Wednesday 21 Mar 2012 @ 10:55
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
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Department for Business response to European Commission state aid decision
News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 21 March 2012
Responding to today's European Commission state aid decision Postal Affairs Minister Norman Lamb said: "We warmly welcome the European Commission's approval of state aid in favour of Royal Mail. It safeguards the universal postal service by allowing the Government to relieve, in full, the historic pension deficit of the Royal Mail Pension Plan and restructure the debt on the company's balance sheet as required at the time of sale.
"We will now put into action – through secondary legislation – our pension solution, taking on the historic liabilities and the bulk of the assets of the Royal Mail Pension Plan and establishing the new Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme.
"Today's decision does not mean that a sale of Royal Mail will happen overnight. We have always been clear that further modernisation by the company and a period of stability under a new regulatory framework, along with state aid approval, are needed before we can move forward with a sale. However, this decision is a fundamental step towards achieving that goal"
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BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Joshua Coe
Joshua.Coe@bis.gsi.gov.uk
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