§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what were the main components of the pay off to the former chief executive of the Post Office; [15915]
(2) what early retirement or voluntary severance schemes are currently in place for employees of the Post Office; [15916]
(3) what were the principal factors in his decision to approve the early retirement of the chief executive of the Post Office. [15924]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 19 February 1996]: The details of the payments made to Mr. Cockburn, the former chief executive, on leaving the Post Office were set out in the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley (Mr. Eastham) on 5 December 1995, Official Report, column 162. The Post Office is responsible for the early retirement and voluntary severance schemes in place for its employees.
There are two principal pension schemes in operation within the Post Office: the Post Office staff superannuation scheme and the Post Office pension scheme. Mr. Cockburn is a member of the former. The provisions and administration of each are the responsibility of the Post Office and the trustees.
231WMr. Cockburn left the Post Office board when his three year appointment to it expired in October 1995. Although offered renewal of his contract on existing terms, he decided after 34 years in the Post Office, 14 of them as a member of the Post Office board, to seek a new challenge in the private sector. I did not approve the early retirement of Mr. Cockburn; this was a matter for him and the Post Office under the terms of his original appointment to the board.