Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the reasons are for the difference in the figures quoted as payments to HM Treasury in respect of its guarantee for the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in paragraph 1.21 of the National Audit Office report on Department of Trade and Industry: Sale of the mining operations of the British Coal Corporation, HC 360 1995-96, and the Answer of 8 March 2007 to Question 125573, HC Deb, Column 2124W.

Andrea Leadsom

Analysis by Binder Hamlyn in 2006 for the NAO had estimated the net present value of payments to the Government (net of any payments from the Government arising from its guarantee) at £2bn over 25 years. This reflects the value at the time of the expected future net payments.

The parliamentary question 125573 answered on 8 March 2007 records that the Binder Hamlyn report found that the total gross payments to the Treasury would be £8bn. This would have been both gross of any payments from the Government and also in cash terms i.e. allowing for the returns achieved on the funds before payment.