Exclusive: Ministers To Set Out New Royal Mail Plans

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Mark Kleinman
May 24, 2011 12:02 PM

Later today I expect ministers to issue a statement confirming new details of their plans to privatise Royal Mail, the state-owned postal operator.

I'm told that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) will announce that the Government expects to assume responsibility for the company's £8bn-£10bn historic pension deficit by the end of March 2012 at the latest.

It will also say that an application will be made to Brussels in relation to state aid remedies this summer.

The statement will be made to coincide with the third reading in the House of Lords of the Bill to privatise Royal Mail and inject much-needed private capital into the cash-strapped company.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has not ruled out the possibility of that capital coming from a stock market listing, although a sale is seen as more likely.

The state aid remedies range from the highly-undesirable (selling Royal Mail's profitable European parcels arm, GLS) to mildly less undesirable measures such as allowing rivals greater access to its network.

Last week The Daily Telegraph reported that the Government was prearing to inject £1bn into Royal Mail to shore up its capital position.

That story was certainly accurate, although any statement about measures to repair the company's finances is unlikely to be made until after the state aid application is filed, I'm told.

BIS declined to comment ahead of this afternoon's statement.

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these 2 comments after that article sum it up for me........


The city asset strippers must be dribbling at the prospect of one more big pay day, because after this I don't think we have anything left.

Everything we had has been sold by successive governments for the short term interests with the excuse that 'private enterprise will inject much need cash'.

It doesn't happen. If the amount paid in subsidies to the private rail networks had instead been invested in British Rail, we would have the finest railway in the world and a tenth of the juggernauts stifling our road system.

The legal bill alone for the London Underground PFI sell off could have revitalised that industry. Our power utilities are all in the hands of foreign investors and we'll soon have to beg them to let us put the central heating on in the winter.



As a nation, we no longer have a pot to piss in.
hang on, we the tax payer pick up the £8-10 BILLION pension deficet, inject upto a BILLION in short term capital (is this repayable or is it a gift so to speak) Then flog it off, probably on the cheap to city fat cats etc to make millions in shareholder payments etc.

And what do we get out of it, ever get the feeling we've been here before circa 80's etc.

[flipper]

these 2 comments after that article sum it up for me........


The city asset strippers must be dribbling at the prospect of one more big pay day, because after this I don't think we have anything left.

Everything we had has been sold by successive governments for the short term interests with the excuse that 'private enterprise will inject much need cash'.

It doesn't happen. If the amount paid in subsidies to the private rail networks had instead been invested in British Rail, we would have the finest railway in the world and a tenth of the juggernauts stifling our road system.

The legal bill alone for the London Underground PFI sell off could have revitalised that industry. Our power utilities are all in the hands of foreign investors and we'll soon have to beg them to let us put the central heating on in the winter.



As a nation, we no longer have a pot to piss in.
hang on, we the tax payer pick up the £8-10 BILLION pension deficet, inject upto a BILLION in short term capital (is this repayable or is it a gift so to speak) Then flog it off, probably on the cheap to city fat cats etc to make millions in shareholder payments etc.

And what do we get out of it, ever get the feeling we've been here before circa 80's etc.

.........................and there is nothing we can do about it!

[borders]

thanks for that Flipper.....