13 April '05 - Minutes of the 42nd Meeting of the EMAG Committee

1. The minutes of the previous committee meeting, on 12th Jan 2005, were agreed and accepted.
   
   
2. TL welcomed NB, co-opted onto the committee by unanimous agreement. He also thanked NB for his activity on EMAG's behalf, notably in analysing and commenting on legal matters.
   
   
3. CS reported on membership. The recent mailing to Irish policyholders was successful in attracting several hundred new members, as was the January mailing to EPHAG. The Irish membership is particularly valuable in the context of EMAG's petition to the EU, especially since there is no local action group in Ireland.
   
   
4. The monthly report from the Treasurer (not present) was signed by all the committee members present. At the end of March, thanks to the continued participation of members and supporters, EMAG has funds in excess of £100,000.
   
   
5. PB reported on the first days of the court case in which ELAS is suing its former auditors, Ernst & Young, and fifteen of its former directors. PB estimates that a full hearing will last some 100 Court days. He has obtained some but not all of the skeleton arguments of both sides, and expects to be able to obtain them all, together with other relevant documents as they come into the public domain after being presented and discussed in court. He is investigating the purchase of daily transcripts, since it will be difficult to organise an EMAG presence every day of the trial, and is in correspondence with Langley J. (the presiding Judge).
   
   PB himself had attended the first three days and would report to the EMAG members via the website. Together with JN and CC, EMAG should be able to cover the next Court week. Thereafter coverage by committee members might be patchier, and PB is investigating other solutions.
   
   
6. PB said that there was little new to report on the PO 2 enquiry, although he understood that it was progressing according to the timetable previously indicated. The "lead case" complainants have yet to be approached by the PO's team. EMAG will be asked to comment at a meeting with the PO team in late May.
   
   
7. The FOS has refused to consider any so-called "Penrose-related" complaints. It was agreed that EMAG should explore the prospects for applying for a judicial review of this decision. Initial legal advice is encouraging.
   
   
8. LS reported on progress with the EU petition. He explained the complex business of guiding a petition to and through the Petitions Committee of the EU Parliament. He has arranged a series of meetings with MEPs and EC officials for 19 and 20 April, and will be accompanied by TL and PB. LS will liaise with TL on the PowerPoint presentation that EMAG can make in these meetings. The EU secretariat has agreed to arrange to have a summary of Petition 29/2005 translated (at no cost to EMAG) for all 25 states.
   
   LS reminded the committee that the aim of the petition is to obtain a resolution by the Petitions Committee against the UK government with possible pursuit at the European Court of Justice, at no cost to EMAG. JN noted that EMAG seeks for the Commission to recommend a basis of compensation and impose it upon the UK government.
   
   
9. JN reported that the ELAS board nominations committee had rejected his application for endorsement in the forthcoming election of ELAS directors. He will therefore stand as an independent candidate, and confirmed that if elected he would resign from the EMAG committee. JN noted that the voting forms, shortly to be distributed, would now permit abstention as well as voting for or against candidates. PB will post relevant information on the EMAG website, with an appeal to EMAG members to vote for JN and organise an Email out at the time voting papers are received.
   
   
10. CS reported on progress in the formulation a complaint to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries against one of its members. The complaint needs a little refining in the light of possible evidence appearing in the current High Court case.
    
    
11. The ELAS AGM will be at 11.00am on 18 May in London. EMAG plans to hold its AGM about one month later.
    
    
12. AOB. CC noted that he was in the process of lodging an appeal with the FSA regarding the deletions and omissions in the material recently provided under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It was agreed that EMAG would donate £500 for the deposit of a candidate to stand against Gordon Brown in the forthcoming parliamentary election, using the platform and publicity to challenge him on the government's record on pensions (including, of course, its shabby evasive behaviour over ELAS). It was agreed that commissioning an academic study of the FOS's treatment of ELAS-related complaints should be explored. Several prospective academic authors were discussed; TL and PB to pursue.

Chris Carnaghan and Paul Braithwaite
23 April, 2005