Court judgement on the Crown

RNS Number : 7794U

BT Group PLC

21 October 2010

 



BT Group plc

Court judgment on the Crown Guarantee

Judgment has today been given in the Royal Courts of Justice on the scope and extent of the Government's obligations in respect of the Crown Guarantee.

The key point in the judgment is confirmation that, in the unlikely event of BT becoming insolvent, the Crown Guarantee can cover members who joined the BT Pension Scheme both before and after privatisation. A further hearing is expected to resolve some outstanding points of detail¹.

Additionally, the extent of the Crown Guarantee should be calculated on a "buyout" basis (i.e. the cost of buying annuities to fund the liability) rather than the outstanding deficiency contribution payments under the recovery plan.

BT welcomes the fact that the judgment provides our employees and members of the BT Pension Scheme with further clarity regarding the extent of the Government's obligations.

The judgment, whilst welcome, has no impact on our agreed payments to the Scheme.

Notes to editors:

¹There are still some issues outstanding as to whether certain classes of members and benefits are covered. However, the judge has made clear that scheme members employed by participating employers other than BT, who were not originally employed by BT, are not covered by the Crown Guarantee.

²This is a case which BT has fully supported and was only a defendant as a technicality

About BT

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in more than 170 countries.  Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services.  BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2010, BT Group's revenue was £20,911 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group.  BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. 

For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt

 

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