§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will be sending a substantive reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam dated 27 June 1997 concerning the Astra Group Pension Scheme. [24665]
§ Dr. HowellsDepartment for Education and Employment officials are seeking a speedy resolution to the ex-Astra issues, but are still working on the "package" of measures potentially to assist ex-employees of the Department who transferred to Astra. Negotiations also 563W involve other Departments—including HM Treasury and the Government Actuary's Department—and due partly to the legal complexities involved, these have been protracted.
The precise nature of the package should be agreed soon, and this Department will be contacting the appropriate former employees with details as soon as it is able. The hon. Member will also be informed.