Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 17 December 1998.

The Swiss Exchange will be able to provide direct access to UK firms to its screen-based trading system following its recognition as an Overseas Investment Exchange by the Treasury, the Economic Secretary Patricia Hewitt announced today.

The Exchange has satisfied the conditions under Sections 37 and 40 of the Financial Services Act 1986 to be recognised as an Overseas Investment Exchange. UK firms, through remote membership, will be able to access the exchange directly through the use of terminals here in London.

Announcing the decision Ms Hewitt said:

“Dealing in Swiss securities will become more convenient, and more business should be routed through London. UK investors should benefit from greater choice and lower transactions costs, while both the markets and investors will benefit from increased competition through improved efficiency and innovation, and a strengthening of the UK’s financial services industry. Greater liquidity and depth will also reinforce London’s position as one of the world’s top international financial centres.

“More overseas exchanges do business in the UK than in any other country. London offers a wide range of choice for internationally mobile financial services firms, making it extremely attractive for them to base their operations here.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 16 December 1998.

The Association of British Insurers’ PASS initiative is a welcome development, which will be of considerable benefit to the review of personal pension mis-selling, the Economic Secretary Patricia Hewitt said today.

The Pension Advisers Support Scheme (PASS) offers small firms assistance with actuarial facilities and financing for the review. Ms Hewitt said:

“I congratulate the ABI on this welcome initiative and note that all of the 30 major providers have joined PASS. The scheme has aroused considerable interest among IFAs and I am confident that it will give a significant boost to the pensions review.”

Of the 21 firms whose results are published today:

• all but two have resolved over 75 per cent of their cases. fourteen firms have now resolved over 90 per cent of their cases.

Ms Hewitt stressed that firms must maintain their progress and ensure that all priority cases are completed by 31 December. She said:

“I am pleased that most of the industry has recognised that it is in everyone’s interest for the pensions review to be completed on time. The regulators will not tolerate further delays, and I fully support their efforts to see phase 1 completed.”

The Minister hoped that, as 1999 approaches, all firms would be making New Year’s resolutions to put their customers first in phase 2 of the review. She said:

“I hope firms have learned lessons from phase 1, and that we will not see delaying tactics used against the review again. Firms must put their customers first, and adhere to the regulators timetable, so that we can put this whole sorry scandal behind us.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 15 December 1998.

Top civil servants and senior business leaders will be questioned as part of a fundamental review covering all aspects of how central government departments spend 12 billion Pounds a year on goods and services, Peter Gershon, the head of the review, announced today.

Mr Gershon, managing director of Marconi Electronic Systems, was commissioned last month to bring his experience in major private sector companies together with senior civil service management to identify efficiency, modernisation and competitiveness gains in central government procurement. The review complements the Government’s comprehensive spending review and will help Departments identify and deliver savings and quality gains to meet their Public Service Agreements, which will be launched later this week.

Setting out how he intends to tackle this important task, Mr Gershon said:

“I have been asked to report my initial findings to the Prime Minister early next year, with a final report during March. This is a tight schedule, but I am determined to press ahead to make sure that Government Departments are able to start taking the undoubted savings and quality improvements which can be found as early as possible.

“My report will contain recommendations for the future roles and relationships within central government procurement functions. The review will be conducted in two phases, gathering information from public and private sector organisations with ideas and expertise to contribute, followed by analysis of these views and the underpinning information, and then produce recommendations.

“In many areas of commerce the Government is the biggest customer in the UK. I intend to address ways in which it can secure best value for public money as the private sector does. This will involve making use of the most efficient models in the UK and abroad and the latest technology, including electronic commerce. I shall look at ways in which government departments collectively can deal with suppliers to get the best possible deal for the tax payer from this large amount of public money.

“I shall visit a number of Departments and key supply side executives in the search to win this valuable prize. Given the 12 billion Pounds spending by civil central Government Departments, efficiency gains of only 5% would release 600 million Pounds every year. This is a prize which must be grasped if the comprehensive spending review is to produce in full the benefits which modern management approaches offer.

“I urge any organisation that is a supplier to the civil departments of central government to provide me with a one or two page submission setting out views on how better value for money and efficiency gains can be obtained through changes to current departmental approaches to procurement.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The appointment of Peter Gershon to head the current review was announced by the Paymaster General, Geoffrey Robinson, and Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary Peter Kilfoyle on 17 November (HM Treasury press release 193/98).

2. The earlier comprehensive spending review paper “Efficiency in Civil Government Procurement”, published in July 1998, identified the need to take advantage of electronic trading, collaboration between departments and coordination of supplier relations. The Gershon Review will examine whether the current organisation of procurement practice supports this and what improvements can be made to deliver these objectives.

3. The Gershon Review covers central civil procurement only. Its terms of reference are:

“To review civil procurement in Government in the light of the Government’s objectives on efficiency, modernisation and competitiveness in the short and medium term and to report within three months”.

4. Peter Gershon, currently MD Marconi Electronic Systems, was formerly MD GPT and before that, MD STC Telecom and has held senior positions in the computing industry.

Submissions to Mr Gershon should be sent to him at

c/o HM Treasury

Room 202/203

Allington Towers

19 Allington Street

London

SW1E 5EB

5. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Byers, will make a statement and publish a White Paper on Public Service Agreements later this week.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 9 December 1998.

The first schemes in which receipts from fines, levies and fees can be used to fund specific projects were announced today by Chief Secretary, Stephen Byers. The detailed criteria against which applications to retain receipts from specific activities will be assessed were also set out. This new flexibility will allow government departments and agencies to retain money raised from fines and levies in cases where this would encourage the development of new initiatives, more efficient use of public money and better services.

Explaining this new policy Mr Byers,said:

“The Treasury is determined to provide a flexible and effective framework within which controls on public money will work. Where appropriate, and providing they meet strict criteria, I believe it is now right to consider how bodies can in future meet the costs of their activities from the money they raise from fines, levies and fees.

“The criteria will ensure that the money raised is in each case appropriate for such treatment, in particular, that the money is spent where it is most needed and will not distort the operational priorities of the organisations concerned.”

Separate criteria are applied to fines/penalties and licences/levies, reflecting the different considerations that apply. For example, money raised from fines and penalties will only be allowed to meet costs where: this is likely to improve performance against policy objectives; enforcement costs can be readily identified and apportioned; and where arrangements are in place to prevent any possible abuse of the system through the use of fine and penalty collection as a method of revenue raising.

The criteria applying to licences and levies require, for example: that the service provided is closely linked to the payer of the fee; that the activity must further the government’s economic goals; and that efficiency regimes are in place to keep costs down.

A full list of the criteria used is set out below.

Activities where using receipts to meet costs has been approved include:

DVLA receipts from wheel clamping activities; fees charged for removing wheel clamps from illegally parked cars and proceeds from the sale of unclaimed cars removed from the roadside will meet the costs of wheel clamping teams and the pounds where cars are held.

Office of Rail Regulation licence fees; the costs of the rail regulator will be met from licence fees charged to rail operators.

Environment Agency charges on waste packaging producers; waste packaging producers must register with the Environment Agency, which then monitors their activities. The costs to the Environment Agency can be met through registration fees.

For the remaining applications, discussions are continuing with departments on whether and how each case could meet the criteria. These include:

a request that the agencies involved should be allowed to retain the money raised from speed camera fines to meet the associated costs;

Environment Agency fines for breaches of environmental regulations.

The Treasury would be happy to consider further detailed proposals from departments, set against the criteria, to use receipts to meet costs.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1.  The Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report 1998 (June 1998, CM 3978) announced that departments were to be able to keep more of their receipts in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

2.  Any questions relating to the specific activities for which receipts might offset costs should be addressed to the departments concerned.

3.  The full list of criteria used for assessing proposals by departments to allow netting off of receipts from costs, within Departmental Expenditure Limits, is:

(I) CRITERIA TO BE APPLIED TO FINES AND PENALTIES

Will performance against policy objectives, e.g. crime fighting and prevention, be likely to be improved?

Are arrangements in place which will ensure that the activity will not lead to the abuse of fine and penalty collection as a method of revenue raising, and that operational priorities will remain undistorted?

Will revenues always be sufficient to meet future costs, with any excess revenues over costs being surrendered?

Can costs of enforcement be readily identified and apportioned without undue bureaucracy, and with interdepartmental and inter-agency agreement, where necessary?

Can savings be achieved through the change and are adequate efficiency regimes in place to control costs, including regular efficiency reviews?

(II) CRITERIA TO BE APPLIED TO LICENCES AND LEVIES

The service delivered should be closely linked to the payer of the licence or levy, either because they are the beneficiaries of the service, or because they are the cause of the expenditure being incurred;

The licence or levy is appropriate, i.e. applied in the economically most advantageous way in the circumstances;

Introducing the levy or licence should not materially restrict the Government’s fiscal policy;

The activity financed by the levy or licence must further our economic goals;

Netting off receipts would improve the efficiency with which resources are allocated eg because of a difficulty in otherwise matching resources to unpredictable changes in externally driven demand;

Where appropriate, charges should be set using the principles of the Fees and Charges Guide, and surpluses would have to be surrendered;

There should be adequate efficiency regimes in place to keep costs down, including stretching targets and regular efficiency reviews;

Day-to-day decisions on the level of charges and an efficient level of costs should be taken separately from the body raising the levy, to prevent abuse of its monopoly power. Normally this would be by the departmental minister. There will be periodic reviews, involving the Treasury, of the operation of the licences and levies, including whether they should exist at all, what scale of activity is appropriate, and the level of charges set.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 7 December 1998.

An expanded Network of Ministers to tackle social exclusion was welcomed today by the newly appointed Chair, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Byers on the first anniversary of the establishment of the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU).

The Network will be made up of Ministers who work closely with SEU and they will act as champions to help guide and present its work. It will now include Ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Mr Byers said:

“If we are to achieve our aim of creating a modern Britain and a decent society there must be no forgotten people. That is why tackling social exclusion is a priority for the government.

“In it’s first year the Social Exclusion Unit has made good progress and action is now being taken to cut school exclusions and truancy; reduce rough sleeping and tackle the problems faced by poor neighbourhoods.

“We have established a new way of working across Whitehall. By breaking down the traditional departmental barriers we have been able to respond in a more positive and practical way to the needs of individuals and communities.

“The Unit is a vital part of our programme to modernise government. Providing joined up solutions to deep seated problems is a key aspect of democratic renewal”.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The membership of the Ministerial Network on Social Exclusion was announced today in a written answer from the Prime Minister to Robin Corbett MP. It is:

Stephen Byers HM Treasury (Chair)

Hilary Armstrong Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions

Paul Boateng Home Office

John Denham Department of Social Security

Lord Falconer Cabinet Office

Peter Hain Welsh Office

Tessa Jowell Department of Health

Geoffrey Robinson HM Treasury

Barbara Roche Department of Trade and Industry

Lord Sewel of Gilcomstoun Scottish Office

John McFall Northern Ireland Office

Andrew Smith Department for Education and Employment

2. The Social Exclusion Unit was set up by the Prime Minister in December 1997, and is staffed by a mixture of outside experts and civil servants. They come from a number of Government departments and from organisations with experience of tackling social exclusion – the probation service, housing, police, local authorities, the voluntary sector and business. The Unit has a remit to produce ‘joined up solutions to joined up problems’. It is tasked with analysing the web of problems that make up social exclusion, and then improving the mechanisms to prevent them happening.

3. The Unit forms part of the Cabinet Office, and reports directly to the Prime Minister. It works closely with the No 10 Policy Unit and policy officials across Whitehall. It does not cover issues which are dealt with by one Government department, or duplicate work being done elsewhere.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 7 December 1998.

The membership and direction of the new Public Services Productivity Panel was announced today by Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson.

Speaking at the second Productivity Roadshow in Cambridge, Mr Robinson said:

“The productivity challenge must be met across all sectors of the economy – that includes the public sector. We want to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public spending, and the quality of service it buys. We are determined that the extra 40 billion billion we are investing in health and education delivers real measurable improvements.

“The new Public Services Productivity Panel will draw on private sector experience to look at ways of improving the productivity of Government departments and other public sector bodies.

“It will examine the Public Service Agreements to determine what will be most critical to each department’s ability to deliver its targets. It will also offer specific recommendations on service delivery improvement.

“I look forward to working with the Panel on how we can improve our productivity in Government.”

The Panel will be chaired by the Paymaster General; and the Vice Chair will be Byron Grote, of BP-Amoco.

Participating in the Cambridge event, Tottenham chief and entrepreneur Alan Sugar said:

“The Productivity Panel is another excellent Government initiative, designed to stimulate innovation and enterprise and I welcome the opportunity to help whenever I can in this worthwhile programme.”

Alan Sugar, a member of the Treasury’s team of business leaders, will tomorrow relaunch his nationwide Enterprise Tour of Schools, with the Chancellor and Paymaster General.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The members of the Public Services Productivity Panel are:

Geoffrey Robinson MP, Paymaster General (Chair)

Byron Grote, Group Chief of Staff, BP (Vice Chair)

Lord Simon, Department of Trade and Industry

Lord Sainsbury, Department of Trade and Industry

Dame Sheila Masters DBE, Partner KPMG

Clare Spottiswoode, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Azurix

John Mayo, Finance Director, GEC plc

John Makinson, Group Finance Director, Pearson plc

Andrew Foster, Controller of Audit, The Audit Commission

John Dowdy, McKinsey

2. The Panel’s remit is to advise the Government on ways of improving the productivity and efficiency of government departments and other public sector agencies. It will report to the Cabinet Committee charged with overseeing departments’ progress against their new Public Service Agreements.

3. The roadshow was held at TWI (The Welding Institute) at Abington, near Cambridge. There will be other similar regional events throughout the UK over the next few months, as part of the Government’s consultation on the Pre-Budget Report. Ministers from a number of Government Departments will be involved – they will want to discuss directly with local business people and others possible solutions for closing the productivity gap. The roadshow will end in Birmingham on 5 February.

4. The Pre-Budget Report was published on 3 November. As well as setting out the steps needed to secure high and stable levels of employment, it forms the basis for a wide-ranging consultation on the steps that need to be taken to address the UK’s long-standing productivity gap.