5 August '04 - Minutes of the 39th committee meeting of EMAG

1. Committee changes. Tom Lake accepted the position of Deputy Chairman, approved unanimously. Stewart Simpson resigned with regret from the committee, due to his new professional commitments.
   
   
2. Treasurer's report. The month's financial summary report was signed by all the committee members present. At the end of July, thanks to the continued generosity of its members and supporters, EMAG had funds in excess of £100,000.
   
   
3. Indemnity on possible legal costs. The indemnity given by the other committee members, to share personal liability with TL and PB for any costs of the legal action for judicial review of the PO's report that are beyond the means of EMAG, was agreed and renewed and will be reviewed at the next committee meeting.
   
   
4. European Aspects. PB and TL reported on progress drafting the petition to seek compensation through the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament. They had reviewed earlier in the day the draft with LS, and AH had also made useful written contributions.
   
   The new MEPs who will form the Petitions Committee will be announced in September, and the aim is to submit the petition soon thereafter. It was agreed that it would be appropriate to obtain the views of a UK legal practitioner and possibly a Brussels-based lawyer on its content and form before submission. EMAG will also seek to inform/consult with other policyholder groups in the EU.
   
   It was noted that a petition had already been submitted by ELAS annuitant Arthur White, while the firm Class Law has made a complaint to the Commission - not a petition.
   
   
5. Response to Paul Myners' Enquiry on the governance of mutuals. It was agreed that EMAG should make a submission, by the mid-September deadline, because of the importance of the issues to all ELAS members. AH was asked to produce a draft, for an agreed fee of £2,500.
   
   
6. Complaint to the Institute of Actuaries. It was noted that the I of A has just announce disciplinary proceedings against four former actuaries/directors of ELAS. It was agreed that EMAG should submit a complaint on grounds relating to the provision of inadequate or misleading information to members at the time of the compromise.
   
   
7. AOB: The date of the next committee meeting was not fixed, and will depend largely on the progress of the application for Judicial Review.

Chris Carnaghan and Paul Braithwaite
11th June, 2004