§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans the Government have to transfer money from the staff pension scheme of British Coal workers; what consultations she has undertaken concerning those proposals; and if she will make a statement. [28993]
§ Mr. BattleFollowing wide consultation in 1993/94 in the run-up to coal privatisation, arrangements were put in place to safeguard the interests of members of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS). In exchange for providing a comprehensive guarantee that pension and deferred pension entitlements will rise at least in line with the retail prices index (RPI), the BCSSS Trustees agreed that the Government should receive 50% of any surpluses identified at periodic Scheme valuations.
The payments which the Government receive from surpluses in the BCSSS and its sister scheme, the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme, should be viewed against the backdrop of the deficiency contributions which the taxpayer has made to the Schemes. In the last 20 years alone these have totalled some £3 billion. In providing guarantees to the two Schemes, the Secretary of State is underwriting a liability the value of which is some £13.5 billion.