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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