Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 23 July 2002.

The Government today began a consultation examining ways in which greater disclosure of beneficial ownership of companies could help law enforcement agencies tackle financial crime.

Potential benefits of greater disclosure are:

• enhanced deterrence and prevention of financial crime
• reduced credit costs  for business
• higher recovery rates of criminal assets
• higher business confidence

In a joint statement, Ruth Kelly, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Melanie Johnson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Competition, Consumers and Markets, said:

“The Government is determined to ensure that the UK stays at the forefront of the international fight against organised crime and terrorist funding. The consultation will examine ways of further strangling the flow of funding for crime and terrorism and demonstrates the UK’s continuing commitment to the highest international standards in preventing money laundering and combating terrorist funding.

We need  to ensure that  UK companies  are not subject to disproportionate new burdens.  Any new regulations should be proportionate and careful attention will be paid to the impact of any potential changes, in particular on small companies.

We hope this Assessment will offer the opportunity for the key issues to be widely discussed and are keen to hear the views of industry, law enforcers and policy makers in this field.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 25 July 2002.

Community sport will benefit as tens of thousands of clubs gain from Government changes to help community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) ease their tax bills.

From today, many CASCs can be better off if they register with the Inland Revenue to claim tax reliefs, which mean:

• fundraising income up to £15,000 exempt from tax
• income from interest exempt from tax
• rental income up to £10,000 exempt from tax
• disposals assets exempt from capital gains tax
• gift aid on individual donations
• inheritance tax relief on gifts
• gifts of assets on no-gain, no-loss basis for capital gains
•  business relief on gifts of trading stock

Welcoming the new tax package for sport in the community, Treasury Minister John Healey said:

“We want to encourage as many people as possible – particularly young people – to take up sport. These measures will make it easier for local sports clubs to offer them the chance.

Sports clubs play an invaluable role in their communities.  Local people give their time willingly and voluntarily to make these clubs work.  Despite the improved Charity Commission guidance issued in April, not all-amateur sports clubs can apply for the tax benefits of charitable status. The new tax package rectifies this, offering clubs many of the benefits of charitable status.

I hope that as many clubs as possible will now register for the tax breaks – it is simple to do and could bring huge benefits.”

Sports Minister Richard Caborn said:

“This is great news for amateur sport. Building on the work done by DCMS, the Charity Commission and Sport England on improved guidance for sport, this package should ensure that no amateur club will miss out on a range of real financial benefits.”

Trevor Brooking CBE, Chairman of Sport England, welcomed the change:

“Combined with the Charity Commission’s extension of charitable status, which will also benefit many of these clubs, this tax relief change will benefit grass roots sport.  It will help clubs off the pitch so they can perform better on it.”

The Charity Commission announced in November 2001 that it would recognise as charitable “the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation by the provision of facilities for the playing of particular sports”. DCMS subsequently worked with the Commission on the improved guidance for sport which was published in April 2002. However, Treasury and DCMS consultation with CASCs and their representative bodies revealed that CASCs who could not, or did not want to, apply for charitable status needed an alternative system of support.

The tax relief package was designed to meet these concerns and ensure that community sport in the UK is put on the best possible basis to encourage and develop local talent.

For a great many clubs, charitable status remains appropriate and offers wider benefits, including:

• mandatory 80 per cent business rate relief
• tax exemption for trading income
• Payroll Giving, and tax reliefs for gifts of shares or land and buildings by individuals and companies

Charitable status can also open up new sources of funding (e.g. grants available from other charities such as community foundations).

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 4 September 2002.

Science and business in Manchester and the North West can provide a model of cooperation to share the drive for innovation and growth, Treasury Chief Secretary Paul Boateng said today.

Meeting key players from universities, business and local government in the region, Mr Boateng underlined the Government’s support for investment in innovation and the science base, and found out first hand how leading bodies in the region are successfully meeting the challenge of transferring knowledge to business and the community.

Mr Boateng said :

“The Government has made its strategic commitment to science, engineering and technology clear. Our recently announced extra £1.25 billion investment in science and technology in the 2002 Spending Review will foster UK economic growth through raising levels of innovation. This is the largest sustained increase in Government science spending for more than a decade and reflects the importance of science to the economy and to society. 

Making sure that good ideas and skills get out of the laboratory and thrive in the market place is an essential link in the innovation system. The North West is at the forefront of bringing together those at the cutting edge of business and science to develop new ways of harnessing technology as a driver of regional economic growth.

This shows the North West continuing to build on its successful industrial and commercial heritage, taking it forward into the 21st century with new ideas and new technologies.  Innovation harnessed in this way can deliver real benefits to industry, trade, jobs and the wider community.

The collaborative initiatives I have seen in Manchester today are not just good news for the region, but are a model for universities and businesses across the country to look to for the future.”

Mr Boateng visited organisations developing science-industry links and science base in the North West, including Manchester Materials Science Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Manchester Science Park, and saw a presentation on the work of the North West Development Agency and the North West Science Council before ending the programme at the Museum of Science & Industry Manchester (MSIM).

At MSIM, Mr Boateng saw a new Interactives Gallery, set up with the help of a £250,000 grant from DCMS. This will enable MSIM to attract more visitors to exhibitions telling the history of the industry, science and people of the Manchester area.

Exhibits and archives covering Manchester’s development from the first industrial city to the present day are an important resource in encouraging interest and participation in links between business and science, drawing on examples of real successes, past and present. The number of visitors to MSIM increased by almost 60% following the introduction on 1 December 2001 of the Government policy of free access for all to Government sponsored museums and galleries. MSIM is particularly successful in welcoming a broad range of visitors through its doors.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 13 September 2002.

The dynamism and productivity of the North West is highlighted by John Healey, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and Ed Balls, Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury in speeches to the business community today. The speeches are part of a review of regional economic strategy led by the North West Development Agency at the De Vere Whites Hotel, Bolton.

“The north west is a dynamic and productive region, with some of the largest corporations in the world locating here,” said John Healey. “However levels of investment and skills are still too low. The North West Development Agency  plans are right to highlight these challenges.”

Latest figures show that 2700 new businesses started up in the region in 2001, and the region has the highest number of start-ups of any region outside London. John Healey continues, “We in government recognise the highly innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of the region, and we are introducing policy changes and investment to boost enterprise.”

“By cutting corporation tax to 10% and introducing the VAT flat rate scheme, we have benefited around 100,000 businesses in the north west. High productivity means high growth, high employment and increasing wages for the people of the region.”

Ed Balls commented, “This year’s Budget and Spending Review released substantial new resources to support investment, growth and jobs in the North West region.

“And in the forthcoming Pre-Budget Report the Chancellor will set-out further new measures to promote enterprise and small business creation, particularly in those parts of this region where unemployment is higher and business start-up rates below the national average. The challenge now for the North West Regional Development Agency is to use these new resources and greater flexibility to raise the rate of business creation.”

The government has many initiatives to support business in the north west:

• Regional venture capital funds designed to fill the equity gap for investments lower than £1/2 million for small businesses;
• Business planning zones allowing development to go ahead without planning permission, so long as they meet the required minimum criteria;
• Eight centres of vocational excellence;
• Two new technology institutes;
• Research and development tax credit (for the whole country).

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 16 September 2002.

A new campaign to encourage people to claim their share of an extra £2.7 billion a year for families and children was launched by Chancellor Gordon Brown, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Andrew Smith and Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo today.

The new Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit will provide a simpler and more streamlined system to support families and to make work pay. Around 6 million families are expected to benefit from the new credits.

The multi-media campaign, which includes TV, Radio, Press and online advertising is aimed to ensure that these families and all others who might benefit make their claims in time to receive payments in April 2003 when the new credits will start.

Launching the campaign, Chancellor Gordon Brown said today:

“The Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit mark the biggest revolution to the tax and benefits system since Beveridge. They will modernise the existing systems, ensuring better support for children whether or not their parents are in work and making work pay for those without children as well. Six million families will be eligible for support.

Instead of a tax credit paid through the wage packet to the main earner, normally the father, we will pay the Child Tax Credit directly in cash or through a bank account to the carer, usually the mother. Up to £2 billion pounds will be transferred from fathers to mothers – providing them and their children with a secure and regular source of income”

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Andrew Smith said:

“This Government introduced a work first approach because work gives people a stake, it builds their self-esteem and it is the best route out of poverty. Tax credits are at the heart of our strategy to make work pay. Making work pay gets more people into jobs and boosts family income.”

Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo said:

“Nine out of ten families with children will benefit from the new child tax credit so it is vital that everyone is aware of the changes and knows how to claim their entitlement.”

That is why we are publicising the new credits through Television, Radio and Press advertisements to reach as wide an audience as possible. We have made it as easy as possible for people to make a claim: they can find out more and make a claim on-line at

www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits. They can also visit one of the Inland Revenue Enquiry Centres or call the helpline on 0800 500 222

The Child Tax Credit brings together the various strands of support for families with children – the child elements in Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Working Families’ Tax Credit (WFTC), Disabled Person’s Tax Credit (DPTC) and the current Children’s Tax Credit – into one streamlined system. For the first time it will be paid direct to the main carer – usually the mother.

The Working Tax Credit will broadly replicate the adult support in WFTC and extend the principles of WFTC and DPTC to adults without children to create one transparent instrument to make work pay, paid through the wage packet. It will also include support with the costs of childcare, building on the success of the existing childcare component of WFTC and DPTC.

The communications campaign launches tonight and is intended to encourage take-up and inform people that tax credits for children will now be paid directly to the main carer.

The campaign clearly communicates how tax credits are changing and explains who is eligible, what they could be entitled to and how they can claim tax credits or get further information.

The campaign idea, ‘It’s Money With Your Name On It’, is intended to motivate people to claim their entitlement. In other words, they are entitled to this money in recognition of their contribution to the UK – through bringing up children, or working. So, the money is rightfully theirs and they should make sure they claim.

In the month following today’s launch in London, a number of events will be taking place across the country raising awareness of the changes and allowing representatives of local interest groups the opportunity to ask Treasury Ministers and Inland Revenue officials questions about the new system.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 24 September 2002.

Chancellor Gordon Brown, and Governor of the Bank of England Sir Edward George, today announced the auction of low-numbered £5 banknotes, the proceeds of which will go towards the Commonwealth Education Fund’s work in supporting education programmes in Commonwealth countries.

Sir Edward and the Chancellor made the announcement at the Commonwealth Education Seminar held earlier in the day, prior to the formal opening of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in London. The seminar, which included speeches from the Chancellor and James Wolfensohn, the President of the World Bank, was designed to highlight the role that Finance Ministers can play in implementing Education Plans as part of their development strategies. Speakers from the Commonwealth Education Fund, of which Sir Edward George is the chair, also spoke about the Fund’s work alongside partner Governments in developing Commonwealth countries.

The Chancellor said, “We have spoken today about the importance of education in the fight against poverty, and the need to work together to fulfil our obligations to those children who are still without hope for a better future. I am very pleased that the proceeds from this auction will help provide strategic support to developing Commonwealth countries, both to improve the implementation of their education plans, and to strengthen accountability to parents and children. This is in addition to the Government’s commitment to help developing countries enrol an extra 20 million children into primary school by 2006”.

Speaking at the Education Seminar, the Chair of the CEF Sir Edward George said:

“I am delighted to be involved with the Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF). This is a tremendously exciting project, combining both public and private contributions to help provide universal access to primary education in the Commonwealth. Education is the foundation of economic progress for both individuals and for society as a whole, whether at the national or global level.

Improving education and access to education is a fundamental step in securing economic prosperity and business competitiveness in any economy. The Bank will itself be able to contribute to the CEF the net proceeds of an innovative auction of low-numbered £5 banknotes. The details will be announced later this year. We are also looking for private sector contributions to the CEF over the next three years. A number of very distinguished business leaders have joined me on the CEF Oversight Committee and we will shortly be approaching the business community for help and support.”

The Commonwealth Education Fund, a partnership between Government, business and non-governmental organisations, was set up earlier in the year by the Chancellor to provide strategic support to the UN goal of universal primary education by 2015. At present 75 million children in the Commonwealth go without any kind of formal schooling.

The Fund is jointly administered by ActionAid, Oxfam and Save the Children, and marks the year of Her Majesty the Queen’s Golden Jubilee as Head of the Commonwealth.

The UK is committed to the Millennium Development Goal of primary education for every child in the world by 2015. The Commonwealth Education Fund will work in 17 of the poorest Commonwealth Countries to help fund education and school infrastructure.

Since 1997 the Department for International Development, has committed over £700m to universal primary education.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 18 October 2002.

The Cross Cutting Review of science and research has been published today on the Treasury website.  The review was conducted jointly by the Treasury, DTI and DfES and reported to Ministers in March 2002.  It considered how to maximise the benefits provided by public spending on science and research to the UK’s economy and quality of life over the long term.

The review looked at science funding by the Office for Science and Technology/Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Education and Skills, and at research commissioned by all government departments. Its remit was:

• to review current funding mechanisms and levels, and to identify the priorities for resources across the funding streams held by the Office of Science and Technology and the Department for Education and Skills;
• to review current funding mechanisms for transferring the outputs of research from the science and engineering base to business and society more widely, and to identify priorities for future use of resources;
• to take stock of studies commissioned or reporting since the last Spending Review, and with potential implications for resources;
• to identify ways to improve the effectiveness and value for money of research commissioned by government departments, and to review how departments manage their research and put it to use more widely.

The Review’s conclusions were taken forward in some detail in the Government’s science strategy, ‘Investing in Innovation’, which was published on 23 July 2002.  The review is now being published to complete the full analytical picture behind the development of the science strategy.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 October 2002.

The Government today welcomed publication by the Institutional Shareholders’ Committee of a new statement of principles setting out strengthened responsibilities of institutional shareholders and agents. This outlines best practice on the part of institutional investors to promote their members’ interests through more active engagement as shareholders.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Ruth Kelly, said:

“The Government has a clear objective to promote more active engagement by institutional shareholders in relation to companies in which they invest. Such engagement will build stronger companies and better returns for investors and members of pension funds.  The industry’s new principles are a major step, which we welcome. However, the key test will be the impact on industry behaviour.  We will monitor progress closely.”

Department of Work and Pensions Minister, Ian McCartney, said:

“I warmly welcome this statement from the Institutional Shareholders’ Committee. Pension scheme trustees and other clients of institutional shareholders need to be able to satisfy themselves that all is being done to act in their best financial interests, and intervention in investee companies is a crucial factor in achieving this aim. Trustees will benefit by gaining a keener insight into what is being done to enhance share value, and they will therefore be better placed to make important investment decisions.”

The Government has previously consulted on possible legislation to underpin institutions’ obligations to promote their beneficiaries’ interests through shareholder activism.  However, the Government welcomes the Committee’s proposal to seek to drive through an approach based on best practice, and to review the impact of the principles after two years. The Government will at that point review whether this non-legislative approach has been successful in delivering change.  The test will lie in the impact on behaviour.

The Government also welcomes the industry’s proposal that the new principles should be included in industry fund management contracts.  The Government will review the extent to which this has taken place as part of its forthcoming review of implementation of the Myners investment principles, due in March 2003.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 25 October 2002.

HM Treasury today announces the appointment of Robert Stheeman as Chief Executive of the UK Debt Management Office (DMO) with effect from January 2003 in succession to Mike Williams. Mr Stheeman, 43, was previously Director of the Debt Capital Markets of Deutsche Bank AG in London.

Commenting on the appointment Gus O’Donnell, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“Mike Williams has done a tremendous job at the DMO over the past five years.  Under his leadership the DMO has established a strong reputation in the City for the competent and professional manner in which it manages the Government’s cash and debt operations. I am very pleased to welcome Robert Stheeman as his successor. He brings with him extensive experience and expertise in the sovereign debt markets.”

Notes to Editors

1. The Debt Management Office was created as an executive agency of the Treasury in April 1998 as part of the reforms to the monetary policy framework following the 1997 election. It is responsible for the Government’s debt and cash management operations.

2. Mike Williams was appointed in January 1998.

3. Robert Stheeman joined Deutsche Bank in 1986 and spent most of his career there working on debt market issues.  Prior to that he worked in the Correspondent Banking and International Lending division of Vereins-und Westbank in Hamburg. He is married with four children.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 5 November 2002.

Figures issued by Chancellor Gordon Brown today show small business creation rates varying widely across the UK – both within and between regions of the country.

They show 175,455 new businesses (measured by VAT registrations) started up across the UK in 2001, equivalent to 37 businesses for every 10,000 adults. The rates ranged from 20 new vat registrations per 10,000 citizens in the North East to 44 per 10,000 citizens in the South East.

Start-up rates varied widely in districts right across the country. They were as high as 118 per 10,000 citizens in Camden in London and 65 in Sefton in the North West compared to 19 in Plymouth in the South West or 10 in Barrow-in-Furness.

And they differed significantly within regions as well, ranging from 33 businesses per 10,000 population in Teesdale to 10 in Wansbeck in the North East, and from 76 in Tunbridge Wells to 20 in Gosport in the South East, for example.

Start-ups per 10,000 population in the 20 most disadvantaged areas of England (outside London) are only half of start-ups in the 20 most affluent areas, and if the level of business in every region was at least as high as the national average, there would be 110,000 more businesses across the UK.

Speaking at the Inner City 100 Awards event for the fastest growing businesses in Britain’s most deprived inner cities, Chancellor Gordon Brown signalled new measures in the forthcoming Pre Budget Report to help tackle the challenges that businesses face, especially in disadvantaged areas.

The Chancellor, a patron of Inner City 100, said:

“I want British young people to see businessmen and women once again as role models in their communities. I want teachers willing to extol the virtues of enterprise and a career in commerce. I want our poorest communities to see an expansion of enterprise as the best solution to unemployment and deprivation. And I want an end to no-go areas for the enterprise economy in any part of Britain. Today’s figures show new businesses were established in every district and in every region of our country, but that the rates at which they were set up varies dramatically both within regions and between them.

“And they show the potential for each region, not just for the number of new businesses we can create, but for additional jobs as well. If the level of business in every region were the same as the national average, there would be 110,000 more businesses generating wealth and prosperity and creating jobs across the UK.

“That is why enterprise will be a central theme of our Pre Budget Report, with special incentives for enterprise in the poorest areas. We have already helped firms by cutting the cost of cleaning up contaminated land and will abolish stamp duty on commercial property transactions. Many of these areas will also be able to sweep aside business planning red tape.

“And as we promote the enterprise agenda in Britain, so we must do the same in Europe – this involves the opening up of financial services, utilities, energy telecommunications and the air transport industry. Our demand, that we abolish stamp duty entirely for commercial property purchases in depressed areas, is a test case for Europe’s willingness to reform.”