Royal Mail

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Tuesday 1st April 2014 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My Lords, I say again that there is no apology to make. The process was robust in setting a price at the level at which it was set. I say again that there was no evidence of demand for the shares above 330p. Much work went into it and it was the right decision at the time. It is all very well for the noble Lord to say this with hindsight, but that is what it was at the time.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (Lab)]

My Lords, surely, the point is that this is not being said with hindsight because these points were made at the time of the sale. I am bound to say that, listening to the Minister, for whom I have a great deal of respect, I agree with my noble friend Lord Foulkes: I am astonished by the complacency of the Government’s position. He talks as if there was no criticism in the NAO report, but there is clearly a criticism when the taxpayer has lost out to the extent that it has because the Government relied on the advice of those who stood to gain from giving it.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I do not say to the noble Baroness that there was no criticism. In fact, my noble friend Lord Stoneham asked me to point out whether lessons should be learnt. I gave my view, which is that there are always lessons to be learnt. Therefore, what the noble Baroness has said is not fair. However, there was very little criticism in the NAO’s report. It was a good report and we are pleased with it. We are also happy with the success of this IPO. We took a cautious view and we were right to be cautious.

Businesses: Employee-shareholder Scheme

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Thursday 9th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My noble friend makes a very important point. Indeed, it is true that businesses where employees have a stake in the company have been seen to perform better than those where that is not the case. The employee ownership index has outperformed the FTSE all-share by an average of 10% since 1992, so successful employee-owned businesses do see the engagement of the workforce as an integral feature of how the business is run.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister confirm that Ministers in this House, when they answer Questions, answer on behalf of the Government, not on behalf of their departments?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

That is indeed true; we speak on behalf of the department, but we are also government spokesmen.

Public Libraries

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Thursday 10th January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

In answer to the noble Lord’s question, I wish to say what I meant to say in answer to the noble Baroness’s question as well. It is very much up to the local authority to decide what type of library service is given. As the noble Baroness and my noble friend are aware, there is a statutory duty to give a comprehensive and efficient service to the community. That is defined as meeting local needs within the context of available resources in a way that is appropriate to the identified needs of the communities that they serve.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean]

Following up the previous two questions, would the noble Viscount be kind enough to place in the Library a list of where these libraries have been closed? I think that he cited in his initial answer that 76 permanent libraries have been closed. Would he please publish a list of exactly where those libraries are?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The point is noted, and I will look into that. On the assumption that I am able to do it, the sentiment is there that I will put the note in the Library.