PMS savers still in limbo as spending review looms
THE latest meeting of the government's Presbyterian Mutual Society Working Group broke up yesterday with no salvation in sight for distressed members of the collapsed body.
The secretary of state and first minister both agreed yesterday that “progress” had been made.
But there was no sign of an actual solution for the 9,500 savers as the clock counts down to the government’s October 20 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) when dramatic spending cuts for the next four years are expected.
Owen Paterson, the secretary of state, chaired the second meeting of the working group.
Peter Robinson, the DUP first minister, and Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister, also attended, as did the enterprise minister Arlene Foster, the NIO minister Hugo Swire and the financial secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban.
Mr Paterson said afterwards: “Real progress has been made by the working group in considering the options identified at our previous meeting, but a number of technical matters still require additional work.
“This work continues, with the aim of finding a fair and just resolution. The aim is to complete this work in time for the forthcoming spending review.
“Officials will continue to work together intensively and the ministerial working group will meet again in two weeks.”
Mr Robinson said it was “a useful meeting where progress was made”.
He added: “The working group will meet again in a fortnight. In the meantime, officials will continue to work through technical details to get a resolution for savers.
“I am very aware of the plight of those who lost savings in the PMS and I welcome the government’s commitment to work towards a mid-October deadline.
“We are working on an outline of how to resolve the issues that we face and I am determined to make progress and achieve a satisfactory outcome. Indeed, I am hopeful it will be possible to have a report to the prime minister agreed at our next meeting.”
The News Letter understands that one option emerging is help for savers who urgently need their money in the short term, combined with an ongoing search for a commercial buyer.
Savers were promised “a just and fair resolution of the PMS issue” by David Cameron before the general election in May.
This week the News Letter asked Mr Paterson whether the government had been offering a guarantee to potential PMS buyers, as recommended by the Treasury Select Committee in February. But an NIO spokesman said it would not be appropriate to discuss the matter given commercial sensitivity.
Last week the former Presbyterian Moderator Rev Dr Stafford Carson called on Mr Paterson and Mr Cameron to honour their pre-election promises.
Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson said last night that the pace of work to resolve the crisis picked up over the summer.
“There is a growing realisation in government that the Comprehensive Spending Review is coming and there is a need for a decision to be taken before then,” he said.
The News Letter understands there are concerns that if money is not ringfenced to help the PMS on or before the CSR, it may be difficult to find any government support for the next few years.
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Monday 28 May 2012
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