Brian H Donohoe (Ayrshire Central, Labour)

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received on (a) the placing into administration of Setanta and (b) the future financial position of (i) Setanta and (ii) its employees; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Lucas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Business and Regulatory Reform), Department for Business, Innovation & Skills; Wrexham, Labour)

holding answer 29 June 2009

The company approached the Department on 28 May to seek our influence with certain commercial stakeholders to help facilitate rescue discussions. Although we were unable to intervene in commercial discussions, officials kept in contact with the company throughout the period in which it was attempting to agree a rescue deal.

The administrators are shutting down the company's UK operation and have made 102 London-based staff redundant, along with a further 73 staff in Glasgow. They are keeping on another 21 staff in the short-term to help close the business down; 15 in London and six in Glasgow. Setanta's sales team is outsourced and I understand that the loss of Setanta's contract will result in around 95 redundancies at the out-sourcing company.