BT 2000 Annual Report Download - page 18

Annual report and Form 20-F 17
Challenge) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (Equal
Pay Task Force). BT sponsors the internet sites for the
Employers' Forum on Disability, Employers for Worklife
Balance and the National Work/Life Forum.
BT encourages its employees to take up the
opportunity to own part of their company and share in its
success. There are two main ways for employees to take a
stake in the company, the BT Employee Share Ownership
Scheme, which this year has set aside »59 million for the
allocation of shares to employees, and the BT Sharesave
schemes, savings-related share option schemes which allow
employees to buy shares at a discount. BT also encourages
its people to put forward their suggestions to improve the
company, and the very successful BT Ideas scheme
generated more than 7,000 suggestions in the year,
contributing to around »17 million of savings. We also
run an annual employee attitude survey, CARE ^
Communications and Attitude Research for Employees.
Managers and their teams work together to put in place
actions necessary to address issues raised.
Most BT employees are members of the BT pension
scheme, which is controlled by trustees who are company
or union nominees.
An estimated 80,000 of the company's UK employees
belong to one of the two trades unions recognised by the
company. The pattern of industrial relations in the last
few years has been stable, and we continue to have
constructive relationships with both unions and to work
our way through any problems.
Critical to BT's and its people's success is our
commitment to continuous learning and development.
During the year, BT achieved re-recognition as a Corporate
Investor in People at our ¢rst annual review. We spend
around »190 million a year on the training and
development of our people, providing access to a
comprehensive portfolio of technical and commercial
training, personal skills, management and executive
development. In February, we launched the BT Academy,
including the Internet College. The Internet College
provides a focus for the transformation of our company
into an internet-aware and internet-aligned business,
helping our people to gain more knowledge and acquire
new skills and con¢dence with internet-based technology.
Opportunities for people to further develop and apply such
skills will be enhanced by the restructuring of BT.
Yellow Pages won the European Quality Award for
1999, making it the ¢rst BT business to win the Award
outright. In addition, BT Northern Ireland was a prize
winner and BT Payphones a ¢nalist, making BT the ¢rst
company ever to have three units selected as ¢nalists for
the award.
Property
The group had a property portfolio of approximately 8,000
buildings at 31 March 2000, the majority of which are
freehold, located principally throughout the UK. Specialised
buildings account for the majority of properties, both in
number and book value. They house mainly exchange
equipment and are needed as part of the group's
continuing activities.
General purpose properties consist chie£y of o¤ces,
depots, computer centres and shops. We are engaged in
a programme of disposing of surplus and redundant
properties of all types from the estate.
The principal categories of BT's plant and equipment
are exchanges and transmission equipment. Transmission
equipment comprises: copper, ¢bre and radio access;
underground ducts for copper and ¢bre access;
equipment for the trunk network; and cellular and other
transmission equipment.
Regulation, competition and prices
The commercial environment in the UK and in the
countries in which BT operates or wishes to operate is
increasingly competitive and dynamic. However, we remain
subject to extensive regulation, particularly in the UK,
which can materially a¡ect the way in which the company
carries out its business.
Regulation in the UK
The regulatory structure for UK telecommunications is set out
principally in the Telecommunications Act 1984, which gives
regulatory authority to the Secretary of State for Trade and
Industry and the Director General of Telecommunications
who heads the O¤ce of Telecommunications (Oftel). The
Secretary of State and the Director General are required to
ensure, as far as reasonably practical, that demand for
telecommunication services, including certain community
services, is met and to secure the ability of licensed operators
to ¢nance the provision of those services. In addition, they
are required to promote the interests of consumers,
purchasers and other users in the prices, variety and quality
of telecommunication services and equipment, and to promote
and maintain e¤ciency and e¡ective competition among the
UK telecommunications operators.
With limited exceptions, a licence under the
Telecommunications Act is required to operate a
telecommunication system and provide telecommunication