§ Ms Rosie WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 21 July 2000,Official Report, column 357W, if he will make a statement on the outcome of the court hearing on further interim payments to National Bus Company pensioners. [133761]
§ Mr. HillI am pleased to be able to say that I have been informed by the National Bus Company pension trustees that the hearing cleared the way for them to make tax-free interim lump sum payments to some 8,500 pensioners who were members of the BEST pension scheme and who began receiving a Standard Life pension after April 1986. This is of course in addition to the other interim payments referred to in my earlier answer.
The trustees will be making these payments as soon as possible.