asked the Secretary of State for Transport what requests he has received, during the past three years, from each of the nationalised industries for which he is responsible and which maintain superannuation schemes for their staff, for authority to top-up the funds employed in these schemes; what explanations were given to him in each case; and what replies he has given.

The nationalised industries for which I am responsible do not need my authority to make deficiency payments to their pension funds.In the case of the British Railways Board however the Government are contributing towards the costs of making good certain historic deficiencies in the Board's pension funds. Payments in the past three years have been as follows: