Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 8 February 2001.

The Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda have now each provided a formal response to the recommendations made in KPMG’s review of financial regulation, which was published on 27 October 2000.

Noting the responses of the Overseas Territories, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Melanie Johnson, said:

“The Overseas Territories have now explained how they plan to respond to KPMG’s recommendations. I have made it clear that the establishment of independent regulatory authorities, of effective powers to assist investigations by overseas authorities, and of any necessary enhancements to the laws and systems which combat money laundering are essential elements in establishing properly regulated financial centres in the Overseas Territories.

“These overdue measures need to be in place by the end of September 2001. The Overseas Territories themselves agreed when the review was published that these three priorities should substantively be in place by then, and I expect full delivery of their promises.

“I also expect to see KPMG’s other recommendations implemented by the end of 2001. This is essential if the Overseas Territories are to satisfy the international community and standard-setting bodies that they conduct their financial business according to international requirements. The UK fully supports a number of international initiatives which make it clear that counter measures will be taken against persistently non-compliant offshore financial centres.”

Baroness Scotland, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsible for the Overseas Territories, added:

“I welcome the high level commitments from the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda to address the KPMG recommendations. Financial services is a competitive sector, and the UK Government is keen that the Overseas Territories will attract quality business seeking a well-regulated environment, based on the prevailing rules, laws and good practice internationally.

“The UK Government will continue to provide advice and assistance to help the six Overseas Territories concerned to achieve full compliance with the principles and guidelines in the KPMG report. There will be a process of regular review and dialogue over the next twelve months to ensure the published implementation plans are substantially implemented by the end of 2001.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 13 February 2001.

The publication today of Lord Sharman’s review of audit and accountability in central Government was welcomed by the Chief Secretary, Andrew Smith.

He commented:

“I am grateful to Lord Sharman for his Review of this important and complex area, and for conducting it so speedily.

“The twin principles of accountability of the Executive to Parliament and independent scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General are enormously important to good government. Present arrangements have evolved gradually over the past century and it is valuable to have the benefit of Lord Sharman’s views on how these arrangements should now be developed to best fit the 21st century.

“The Government will consider Lord Sharman’s recommendations very carefully with a view to improving the present system of accountability.

“It will be important to consult widely among departments, other bodies which might be affected and other key stakeholders, before issuing a formal response in due course.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 19 February 2001.

The results of an independent review into the efficiency of the Utility Regulators, Ofgem (electricity and gas), Oftel (telecommunications), Ofwat (water and sewerage), and ORR (rail), were published by the Chief Secretary, Andrew Smith today.

Welcoming the report, Andrew Smith commented:

“I am very grateful to WS Atkins for their thorough report, and the positive way in which the regulators have approached this review.  The purpose of this work was to give the Government, the regulators themselves and their stakeholders the reassurance that each organisation was efficiently run, to identify any shortcomings and encourage the spread of best practice. It was not the intention to question the policies being followed by the regulators.

“The Treasury and the four Regulators will now be looking at the report’s recommendations and considering how to take them forward, bearing in mind that some of the recommendations will apply to some of the Regulators but not all.”

The report concluded that the regulators are professionally run organisations and that there are many examples of good practice.  Whilst the costs of regulation have risen well in excess of inflation, the amounts involved are still very small in comparison to the turnover of the regulated industries and the benefits received by consumers.  But the report also identified areas for improvement.  Four of the main findings of the report are:

• More could be done to ensure that good practice in one organisation is shared by the others.
• Focus needs to be given to controlling further the proportion of costs spent on support services.
• The annual staff turnover of 20% (a lot higher in some specialist grades) needs to be addressed, particularly in Oftel and Ofgem. Market-related pay structures for senior and middle-ranking staff should be considered.
• More could be done to increase transparency in budget-setting and assessing the costs and benefits of individual projects at an early stage.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 20 February 2001.

The taxpayer is to benefit from improved front line public services under a new procurement technique, designed to deliver value for money improvements and successful completion of major civil central government projects, Andrew Smith, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announced today.

The Gateway process has identified potential savings from value for money improvements made in pilot projects which  could amount to up to £150 million.  This figure is expected to rise to £500 million annually once the full roll out of new projects take effect in 3-4 years time.

The ‘Gateway Review’, a technique introduced by the Office of Government Commerce, will be managed operated by them along private sector lines. Major, complex or novel government acquisition projects, including those involving Construction, IT and PFI will only pass through a series of  five ‘gates’ at key stages in their lifecycle, when given a green light to do so.

Speaking at the ‘Gateway’ launch in London at 12 Downing Street, Andrew Smith said:

“We have a duty of care to the taxpayer to eliminate poor procurement methods and to ensure value for money improvements.  For every pound saved in procurement is a pound more for front line public services like hospitals, education, fighting crime and investing in transport.

Through the Office of Government Commerce  we now have a commercially minded reliable management system  – the Gateway Process –  that can be applied to every major Government project.  Such projects will pass through each ?gate?,  only when rigorous tests have been met.

Failure in big projects doesn’t come cheap and is no longer a concept that the public is prepared to accept in the development and construction of major government projects.  Poor procurement leads to the waste of public finances. That is why the Gateway makes commercial common sense.”

‘Designed for success’ the Gateway Process comprises five major ?gates? through which projects must pass to test their procurement viability:

• Gate 1   –    justify business case
• Gate 2   –    approve procurement method
• Gate 3   –    approve award of contract
• Gate 4   –    test whether project is ready to go live
• Gate 5   –    identify if project has delivered planned benefits

The Gateway is a review of a project carried out at key decision points by an independent team of experienced experts sponsored by the OGC project team.   The reviews are timed to fit within existing project timescales that identify the key issues for success in major projects. They will minimise the risk of failure of major government  projects and, with it, remove the  huge waste of money that comes hand in hand with failure.

Peter Gershon, the OGC’s  Chief Executive said:

I am confident that the Gateway Process can make a huge difference to the way the public sector procures large government projects.  Historically there has been wide variability on the outcomes of major projects with too many being late, over budget and not generating the planned level of benefits.

The OGC Gateway Process is based on techniques that have been tried and tested in the private sector and provides senior managers in government with the powerful tool to help manage these projects better in future.

The introduction of five stages to the Gateway Process will ensure that projects that have not met our rigid criteria will fail to proceed.  This will enable appropriate corrective action to be taken.  The successful testing of pilot projects over the past nine months demonstrates that the Gateway represents a huge improvement in the government’s procurement capability.

Ian McCartney, the Minister responsible for e-Government said:

I welcome the launch of the OGC Gateway Review process.  It provides a clear and sensible process to assure project management and development and to secure ultimate success.

With the publication of ‘Successful IT : Modernising Government in Action’ and the progress report last year, Government is implementing one of the most comprehensive programmes ever to improve the delivery of government projects enabled by IT.

Initiatives to upskill civil servants, improve project management and measures to streamline the management of projects, have already been put into practice.  The Gateway Review Process takes the implementation of “Successful IT” one step further, asking the difficult questions at key stages of projects to support departments in delivering value for money in modernisation of government services. Gateway reviews have already been piloted using techniques proven in the private sector.  Running since May, the pilots have reached various stages of the five gates system.

Reviews are short and intensive aimed at identifying the key issues for success.  Each gate review will take approximate 4-5 days and fit within existing project timescales.

Pilots with project values amounting to some £3 billion are expected to achieve value added benefits in excess of 5%.

The Gateway Process will be fully operational this year though the full benefits will not be realised for 3-4 years.   That is when the full value of the Gateway will realise the most benefits.

Large, complex and novel projects are an important component of government procurement.  There are more than 200 organisations in government who spend billions of pounds on such projects each year.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 February 2001.

Financial Secretary, Stephen Timms, today met the major oil companies and Independent retailers to discuss how the introduction of ULSP was going, after the meetings he said:

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Pre-Budget Report in November that the Government would reduce duty on ultra-low sulphur petrol on Budget day this year, in recognition of its environmental benefits, subject to consultation and it being widely available.

The purpose of this statement is to provide an update of that process and of how the introduction of ULSP is proceeding and to set out the steps the Government is taking to ensure the smooth transition to nationwide use of this fuel.

Lord MacDonald and I have today met with the major oil companies to discuss this issue.  On the basis of that meeting, I am glad to say that we believe that the oil companies are on track to meet their target to supply ULSP nationwide at their retail sites by the end of March.

Lord MacDonald and I also asked representatives of independent petrol retailers to meet us today.  They operate over 5,000 retail sites across the country.  Many are small businesses, often playing a vital role supplying rural and urban communities.

Although some independents are already supplying up to 50% ULSP, their representatives indicated that they anticipate that it could take independent retailers longer to complete the nationwide transition to ULSP than for the major oil companies, because of constraints on the capacity of UK oil refineries.

The independent retailers could move faster by increasing imports, but this might cause uncertainty in the wholesale and retail markets and would not necessarily be to the benefit of motorists.

The Government’s objectives are to ensure that everyone should be able to share the environmental benefits of ULSP, and the benefits of the duty cut associated with it.  It is in the whole country’s interests that these objectives are achieved, and achieved as smoothly as possible.

Any decisions on actual duty rates will be taken and announced by the Chancellor in the Budget itself but, as a sensible measure that will be supported by independent petrol retailers, to guarantee that all motorists would benefit from a cut in duty on Budget day, I can announce that the Government intends to match any reduction in duty on ULSP that is announced in the Budget with a reduction in duty on unleaded petrol for a temporary period until 14 June 2001.

This will ensure that the introduction of ULSP across the country will happen in the smoothest way, and that car-drivers – especially in rural areas supplied by independent petrol retailers – will be able to benefit from any duty cut that is announced in the Budget for ULSP.   We want to match nationwide availability at the major oil companies with all motorists benefiting from any duty cut at independent stations too.

In this way we best achieve our aims set out in November – first, that the long-term benefits to the environment are achieved; second, that motorists would be able to benefit from a cut in petrol duty on Budget day; and third, that the benefit would go to all motorists in all areas.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 26 February 2001.

Chancellor Gordon Brown and Clare Short today called for a global campaign to fight child poverty and meet the 2015 International Development Targets.

Speaking at a conference in London to uniquely assembled global participants – from developed and developing countries, Government and business, NGO and civil society, the UN, UNICEF and UNDP, the IMF and World Bank – the Chancellor stressed the need for urgent action, and for collective effort, with all groups present being individually accountable for what they can do to create stronger international action against child poverty.  He said:

“Over 10 million children will die before the age of 5. 120m children are not in primary school. Each of us as partners must be prepared to make radical changes in the way we act so that the goals of 2015 can be achieved.”

In inaugurating this global initiative, Nelson Mandela said:

“I warmly welcome Gordon Brown and Clare Short’s conference as a start of a new initiative calling for collective action.  And I say to the delegates – find the courage to be bold.”

International Development Secretary Clare Short said:

“One in five of us live in extreme poverty. If we can together coordinate our efforts behind the leadership of developing county governments, we can achieve the international development targets. Only if we all collaborate can we achieve this enormous objective.”

The Chancellor set out a range of new initiatives on education and health:

On education the Chancellor said:

“Today I am pleased to announce that the British Government will create, in Her Majesty the Queen’s Jubilee Year, a fund to help achieve universal primary education in the Commonwealth. The Government will provide new resources for this initiative. We will call on business to support this effort.”

On health, the Chancellor outlined a series of measures :

• A new international initiative to address the devastation caused by the killer diseases – particularly HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, which are responsible for 5 million deaths a year.

He announced his intention to :

• Introduce new tax incentives for research and development into effective and affordable drugs and vaccines for these diseases, linked to increased commitments by the industry itself.
• Remove constraints in the tax system on donations of drugs and vaccines – linked to increased commitments from the industry to make donations on a more consistent basis, in support of developing countries own health strategies

Details on these measures will be set out in the Budget.

• A new global purchase fund, both to encourage the development and delivery of effective and affordable treatments that do not yet exist, and for the treatments already available.

Gordon Brown linked these new initiatives with a challenge to the pharmaceutical industry – to raise the level of R&D on diseases of the poor, and to work to provide the affordable drugs and vaccines that the world so desperately needs.

The current level of R&D to develop new vaccines yet to be discovered for the world’s killer diseases is inadequate. The international fund for vaccines provides a new approach. Work will now begin urgently to specific and agree the terms of the new fund and to lead a new international crusade to mobilise political will and resources in support of this monumental challenge.

Carol Bellamy, head of UNICEF, welcomed the new announcements on health saying:

“It can help save the lives of children in developing countries by closing the gap, and giving them speedier access, to necessary drugs and life saving vaccines.”

This new health initiative builds on the UK government’s commitment to better health delivery systems.  Since 1997 the Department for International Development (DFID) has committed £1 billion to strengthen primary health care in poor countries.  A report issued for the conference by DFID, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office’s Performance and Innovation Unit (“Forging a New Commitment: Tackling the Diseases of Poverty”) describes the Government’s comprehensive strategy in more detail.

These initiatives and the themes of the conference will be taken forward through a series of international meetings throughout 2001 and beyond – by the UN, World Bank, and the G8. The UK will work closely with the Italian Presidency of the G8, to build on the announcements at the conference today by Italian Prime Minister Amato and Finance Minister Visco.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The keynote address to the conference was given by Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel, representing the Global Movement for Children. Other speakers included, in alphabetical order:

Mike Aaronson	Save the Children
Giuliano Amato	Italian Prime Minister
Kofi Annan	UN Secretary General
Carol Bellamy	Executive Director, UNICEF
Matthews Chikaonda	Malawian Finance Minister and Co-chair of HIPC Finance Ministers
Rt Hon Don Johnston	Secretary General, OECD
Horst Kohler	Managing Director, IMF
Jean Lemierre	President, EBRD
Mark Malloch Brown	Administrator, UNDP
Bishop Diarmuid Martin	Vatican Council for Justice and Peace
Rev Agnes Mukandoli	Mothers Union, Rwanda
Gabriella Nunez de Reyes	Honduran Finance Minister
Francisco Songane	Mozambique Finance Minister
Vincenzo Visco	Italian Finance Minister
James Wolfensohn	President, World Bank

 

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 26 February 2001.

CONCLUDING STATEMENT BY CLARE SHORT, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND GORDON BROWN, CHANCELLOR OF EXCHEQUER

Background

We enter the 21st century with nearly 10 million children dying every year before their first birthday. 12 million die before their 5th birthday. And 120 million children are without even 5 years of schooling. In the face of these tragic facts – and in the year of the United Nations Children’s Summit – all the participants at the conference today recognised we must do much more to tackle the poverty of today’s children and so build hope for the next generation.

Child poverty and the seven international development targets

Over the last ten years the nations of the world have agreed upon seven international development targets to be achieved by 2015. Achieving these targets would mean halving the proportion of children living in poverty, making primary education accessible for all children, ending discrimination against girls in education, dramatically improving the health position of the poorest children and their families and finally reversing the trend of environmental degradation so that there is a sustainable world for our children to inherit.

Reaffirmation of commitment to seven international targets

Today, we all therefore reaffirmed our joint commitment to making every possible effort to reach these international targets and acknowledged the need to intensify our collective efforts. We aim, through achieving these targets, to offer this generation of poor children the opportunities denied to their parents.

Roles and responsibilities

We all welcomed the stronger leadership role that developing countries are starting to play, such as through the Millennium Programme for the Renaissance of Africa and the Poverty Reduction Strategy process.

As representatives from developed and developing countries, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, faith communities and multilateral institutions, we recognise the need to work within our powers and responsibilities to ensure that a greater effort is made to guarantee that the International Development Targets are met.

Our joint responsibility for the targets must reinforce, not diminish, accountability for the outcome. We all have a joint responsibility to work towards these goals, with each accountable for actions within specific responsibilities.

Today, we agreed to work together to commit to a clear set of specific actions for which we will all be individually accountable.  These commitments will enable us to deliver the international targets and so break the intergenerational cycle, which would otherwise mean that today’s poor children would become the parents of tomorrow’s poor children.

Our discussions today have been a key step in the process of developing such a set of actions. But we will need to work together over the coming months to develop these further, with the aim of finalising them in time for the UN Special Session on Children.

We therefore welcome the specific commitments made by representatives today in particular that

UNICEF will

• continue to invest in programmes to reduce infant and under-five mortality and promote child survival;
• increase the share of resources for basic education to ensure all children get a quality primary education, with a special emphasis on girls.

UNDP will

• ensure that UN development agencies focus their efforts around realisation of the Millennium Declaration and the achievement of the International Development Targets;
• work with government, civil society and private sector partners to support nationally owned, inclusive Poverty Reduction Strategies;
• ensure that the UN system plays a full part in facilitating both government led programmes and donor co-ordination;
• help developing countries set, measure and reach national poverty reduction and human development targets. To this end, UNDP will support country teams produce, in partnership with developing countries, regular national reports which benchmark progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Declaration and the International Development Targets;
• aggregate national reports into the Secretary-General’s annual report on progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Declaration and International Development Targets;
• upgrade the quality and impact of National Human Development Reports;
• make the Secretary-General’s Global Compact ‘local’ by organising action-oriented dialogue among stakeholders, including business, civil society and government, with a view to promoting sustainable and broad-based economic development.

IMF and World Bank will

• continue actively to use the International Development Targets as a common framework to guide policies and programmes and to assess their  policies’ and programmes’ effectiveness;
• help governments to broaden participation and develop greater ownership of macroeconomic, structural and social policy issues;
• support governments in developing programmes, policies and budgets that are in line with comprehensive poverty reduction strategies and which are pro-poor and pro-growth, shifting support towards activities that demonstrably benefit poor people and promote both equity and efficiency;
• ensure that appropriate social impact analysis is undertaken of  structural reform measures, so that countervailing measures can be put in place to support groups adversely affected by reforms;
• ensure appropriate flexibility in fiscal targets of IMF programmes (such as in post conflict situations, in response to unexpected external shocks;  and to ensure that development assistance is genuinely additional to a country’s own resources);
• assist governments to improve accountability of public resource management (including by providing regular assessment in their IMF review);
• assist governments to cost and regularly assess what needs to be done in order to achieve their poverty reduction targets and the International Development Targets;
• strengthen support to countries by further decentralisation of World Bank functions and expertise.

UK will, and encourages other developed countries to

• make every effort to increase development assistance;
• increase the proportion of development assistance going to the poorest countries;
• untie all development assistance;
• coordinate their efforts more effectively and ensure development assistance is directed at the needs of the poorest, without consideration of the convenience of the donor;
• base their assistance on countries? own Poverty Reduction Strategies by:
• limiting the administrative burdens placed upon recipient countries;
• ensuring compatibility with countries? budget-setting priorities and procedures work;
• ensuring donor support is used in support of long-term reform programmes;
• ensure that level of development assistance is predictable;
• work to remove barriers to market access for all goods from least developed countries;
• ensure export credit supports to poor countries are not used for unproductive expenditures and tighten controls on small arms transfers;
• renounce the right from this year onwards to any benefit from the historic debt owed by the HIPC countries, in addition to committing to write off 100% of all bilateral HIPC debts starting at decision point.

Developing countries will

• analyse macroeconomic policies for impact on poverty reduction;
• ensure that poverty reduction policies fight all aspects of inequity in their countries;
• ensure that Poverty Reduction Strategies demonstrate how they will enable International Development Targets to be delivered;
• adopt fully costed programme budgets and comprehensive long term expenditure frameworks;
• strengthen capacity to spend debt relief savings and new assistance effectively on poverty reduction programmes and on improving the quality of services;
• take the lead in co-ordinating donors, NGOs, faith groups and the private sector in supporting country Poverty Reduction Strategies;
• continue their efforts to empower the poor, by integrating participation into all their democratic structures;
• work to strengthen the accountability of financial management systems so as to eliminate corruption;
• accelerate efforts to improve domestic resource mobilisation to increase domestic funding for poverty reduction;
• tightly limit new external borrowing for productive purposes;
• improve the access of the poor to equitable justice systems;
• intensify efforts to promote peace in their regions;
• strengthen health care systems and access for poor people (including putting in place universal primary health care systems) so that existing HIV/AIDS drugs and the new support investment treatments can be made available to all.

Private sector and medical research community will

take the lessons and commitments made today to a parallel conference on the role of business to be held later this year;

• develop at that conference an action plan to meet this challenge.

Group of seventeen NGOs will, and encourage other NGOs, Faith groups & committed individuals to

• raise public awareness regarding the outrage of child poverty and build global solidarity with poor girls, boys, women and men as they struggle to secure their rights and better their lives;
• in partnership with poor communities and southern civil society organisations work to overcome the causes of poverty and injustice and specifically to:
• ensure that the poorest and most marginalised including children speak and are heard in the decisions, processes and institutions affecting their lives including Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and other resource allocation processes;
• ensure all decision makers are held accountable to poor people of all ages for concrete progress towards the realisation of rights and the achievement of the International  Development Target;
• campaign and advocate north and south for urgent action on international debt, trade, education, health, HIV/AIDS, conflict and violence and other key issues impacting directly on the ability of poor countries and people to secure rights and achieve the International Development Targets;
• assist government and communities through funding expertise and other inputs in developing sustainable and participatory solutions that improve  the daily lives of poor children and their families.

Next steps

We all agreed on the need to take action and to pursue any further measures necessary in the months and years ahead to ensure the 2015 targets are met in every country.  We will be doing this in all the fora we all work in, such as the HIPC Finance Ministers meeting in June 2001, the UN Special Session for Children in September 2001, the World Bank and IMF in the Spring and Annual meetings, and as we develop national and international policy.  The aim will be, year by year, country by country, to improve the impact of our work in support of the world’s poorest children.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 27 February 2001.

The Treasury is seeking private investors for a 51 per cent stake in Partnerships UK, the wholly owned government company set up to develop and implement more efficient public private partnerships (PPPs) and to promote the development of Wider Markets projects, Chief Secretary Andrew Smith announced today.

By selling a 51 per cent stake, the Treasury plans to raise a minimum of £22.5 million of equity by private placement with qualifying institutions. Prior to completion of the Offer, it is expected that Partnerships UK will have a capital base of £45 million. Each potential qualifying investor will be invited to invest between £1 million and £5 million.

Speaking about the announcement to dispose of a majority shareholding to the private sector Andrew Smith said:

“The opening up of the market in this way is a significant development in the PPP sector in what is becoming an increasingly mature market place.

By turning Partnerships UK into a public private partnership the Government is creating a key market opening for private sector shareholders, keen to seize the opportunity to help the public sector deliver modern, high quality public services.

Partnerships between the public and private sectors are the cornerstone of the Government’s modernisation programme. With Partnerships UK already pioneering a business model in a strong private sector market they are well positioned to play a pivotal role in developing and expanding the PPP market and to bring private sector disciplines to bear on public sector procurement.

PPPs bring with them new challenges that require specialist skills and a high level of expertise. With their high calibre management team and skilled practitioners with significant public and private sector experience and their public sector mission, I expect Partnerships UK to remain at the cutting edge of project improvement and development for years to come.”

Derek Higgs, Non Executive Chairman of Partnerships UK said:

“This move marks a major stepping stone in Partnerships UK’s business plan. Having access to new capital will accelerate the fulfilment of PUK’s public sector mission in driving forward successful PPPs.

The initial response has shown that interest in investing in Partnerships UK is high and we look forward to working with our public and private shareholders to make the business a success.”

James Stewart, Chief Executive of Partnerships UK said:

“Partnerships UK is already fully operational and working on a wide range of PPP projects. The move to a PPP and the raising of capital will be the springboard to develop the business further.

We are confident that we can drive forward the Government’s ambitions to see effective public private partnerships. Partnerships UK will strive to be at the forefront of the development and implementation of better, faster and stronger PPP transactions, helping to deliver value for money public services and efficient utilisation of public sector assets.”

The Private Placement offer will close on 27 March 2001. The basis of allocation under the offer is expected to be announced at the end of March. Following the completion of the Offer, Partnerships UK will be 51 per cent owned by the private sector and 49 per cent owned by the public sector.

N M Rothschild & Sons Limited is acting as Placement Agent for and financial adviser to the Treasury in connection with the offer for sale by the Treasury to certain qualifying institutions. Partnerships UK’s financial targets will be to achieve a rate of return of its investors which is commensurate with the risks of its activities.

Following completion of the Offer, Partnerships UK will become a public private partnership : a joint venture with the public sector owning a minority interest and the private sector owning a majority. The governance structure is designed to balance private sector disciplines with Partnerships UK’s public sector mission. A majority of board members will come from the private sector and the public sector will be represented by two non-executive directors appointed by the Treasury. The wider public interest will be represented through an Advisory Council made up of representatives from Government departments, Devolved Administrations, local authorities and other public bodies from amongst Partnerships UK’s clients.

As the successor to the Treasury Taskforce, Partnerships UK will aim to make PPPs a success, working in partnership with public bodies. Partnerships UK has been set up to help the public sector deliver:

• fast and efficient development and procurement of PPPs
• strong PPPs that build stable relationships with the private sector;
• savings in development costs;
• better value for money.

Partnerships UK plc has entered into a Framework Agreement with the Treasury for up to five years under which Partnerships UK will continue the work of the Treasury Taskforce, providing general support to the Treasury, the Office of Government Commerce and other parts of the public sector.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 28 February 2001.

The IMF has “commended” the UK Government “for the continued strong performance of the UK economy”.

At a discussion in Washington on 23 February, the IMF said that “plans to increase public investment in infrastructure and human capital are justified in light of the evidence” and welcomed the Government’s efforts “to enhance competition, innovation and entrepreneurship”.

The Directors agreed that “sound fiscal and monetary policies, underpinned by transparent medium-term policy frameworks as well as sustained implementation of structural reforms” have contributed to the strength of the economy in recent years. They also “expected output growth would remain robust” while “prospects for inflation remain benign”.

Against this benign inflation outlook, the Directors noted that “even after taking into account recent spending decisions, the fiscal position remains sound and fully consistent with the authorities medium-term fiscal framework”.  The Chancellor agrees entirely with the Directors’ conclusion that “additional fiscal stimulus would limit the room for further interest rate cuts”. That is why he has made clear that he intends in the Budget to lock in the tough fiscal stance set out in the pre-Budget report and Budget 2000.

Commenting on the IMF’s report, the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, said:

“I welcome the IMF’s report. It outlines the importance of economic stability and the contribution of the Government’s macroeconomic framework to the ongoing success of the UK economy.  Moreover, it highlights the contribution of our prudent and cautious approach to managing the public finances to these successes in recent years.

I agree with the IMF that boosting UK productivity performance is a key priority to achieving higher long-term growth and sustained increases in living standards.  Our approach recognises the importance of economic stability and strong policy frameworks, combined with microeconomic reforms and policies to enhance competition, innovation and entrepreneurship, for building long-term economic strength, high levels of productivity growth and rising living standards for all.”

As was the case last year, at the request of the UK Government the IMF is today publishing its Article IV staff report on the UK economy in full, along with the record of the IMF board discussion, and the UK’s statement in the board meeting.

Commenting on publication of the Article IV and associated papers, the Chancellor said:

“The publication of the IMF’s report on the UK economy clearly demonstrates our commitment to open up the IMF’s scrutiny process.  Making available clear independent information on policy is an essential part of the new international financial architecture.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 6 March 2001.

Paul Myners today published his report on institutional investment, commissioned by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in his Budget speech on 21 March 2000.

In response, the Treasury said :

“This is an important report. The Chancellor will respond in tomorrow’s Budget. The Government will also publish a joint DSS/HMT document on the future of the MFR.”

HM Treasury and DSS announced the publication of a consultation document and joint review of the future of the minimum funding requirement (MFR), which applies to most occupational pension schemes, on 14 September 2000.

Paul Myners published his views on the MFR ahead of his main report on institutional investment in a letter to Gordon Brown and Social Security Secretary Alistair Darling on 8 November 2000. This was to enable respondents to the joint review to take account of Mr Myners’ views during this consultation, which closed on 31 January 2001. The Treasury and DSS will take account of all views received in its announcement on the outcome of the joint review.