Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 26 October 1998.

A workshop aimed at making better use of  government assets by developing joint projects between the public and private sector and selling them into a wider market is being opened today in London by Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson.

The new initiative allows the private sector to use its entrepreneurial skills in developing joint ventures as part of a move to ensure that the public sector is getting full value for  its many and varied assets.

Speaking at the Treasury’s Wider Markets workshop, Geoffrey Robinson said:

“Wider Markets is a marvellous opportunity and a challenge for us all.  This Government believes that both the public and private sectors have key roles to play in delivering public services and encouraging  investment.  We need public private partnerships to get the best out of the assets  – physical and intellectual – that we have.

“This is one – but only one – of the contributions government itself can make to meet the productivity challenge the Chancellor has set us all.

“This initiative is also about changing the culture in Whitehall.  It’s about giving departments incentives to operate efficiently rather than just telling them to do so. It’s about the Treasury giving guidance and support. A partnership in government as well as between government and the private sector.”

Government has many assets which it believes could be used more intensively – not just to physical assets: land, property and equipment, but also to non-physical assets such as software, databases, know-how and other intellectual property.

Wider markets policy allows Departments to retain the receipts from selling services they have developed from using spare capacity.  This can be achieved by developing commercial services based on public assets in partnership with the private sector.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 22 October 1998.

Attached is an extract from the speech given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown today to the European Investment Bank Forum.

Just as we are working for stability internationally, so in this uncertain and unstable world where growth forecasts for the world and for national economics are being downgraded by national and international authorities alike, the government is steering a course of stability for Britain.

It because we created a new monetary framework, by making the Bank of England independent, and tackled the inflation problem – that is at the root of the boom bust cycle of the past – that we are better placed to withstand the uncertainties of the global economy.

Inflation has been brought down and is at its target of 2.5 per cent.  And the bank of England has now been able to reduce interest rates while setting policy to meet that target.

And it is because we tackled the fiscal deficit -the 28 billion pounds deficit we inherited – that we are better placed.  In our first year we took the difficult decision to work within the public spending plans we inherited and to tighten fiscal policy – with a reduction in borrowing of 20 billion pounds last year, amounting to 3.5 per cent of GDP from financial year 1996-97 to financial year 1999-2000.

And just as we have consistently taken a prudent and cautious approach to managing the public finances, we will continue to do so.  I will of course be delivering the Pre-Budget report on 3 November, with the half yearly assessment of the economy and the public finances which every chancellor gives.  But I can say – as I said last July – that our plans and projections have been based on cautious assumptions which have been audited by the independent national audit office, including a cautious and realistic assumption about trend growth – one quarter per cent a year lower than the conservative assumption.

It is one of the central features of our new spending regime that we built in margins to cover uncertainties, including the risk of slower growth and its effect on revenues.  And we have laid out, as our new code for fiscal stability requires, clear fiscal rules which we will achieve over the economic cycle and which explicitly allow the automatic stabilisers to operate in periods of more moderate activity.

The Pre-Budget statement I will make to the house of commons in ten days time will show that in an uncertain and unstable global economy we in Britain are steering a stable course for both our national economy and our public finances.  It would not be in the national economic interest for us to be diverted by opportunist calls for emergency cuts in public investment which are not justified on economic grounds.

For it is because of our prudent management of public finances – including last years 20 billion pounds cut in the deficit – that we remain on track to meet our strict fiscal rules over the economic cycle while maintaining our commitment to an additional 40 billion pounds for improvements in health and education.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 October 1998.

New Treasury Taskforce guidelines highlighting staff consultation will lead to greater openness in PFI projects, Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson announced today.

The procedures outlined today – which have the full support of the CBI and TUC – are designed to encourage transparency and openness during the consultation with staff and other interested parties.  Calling for greater trust and cooperation between Departments, bidders and trade unions, Geoffrey Robinson said:

“The quality of the service which PFI projects deliver depends on the skills and commitment of its staff.   Openness between bidders,  trade unions and staff is an essential part of  any well run procurement process.

“By working closely with staff representatives and acting positively, and by taking on the responsibility for retraining affected staff, the private sector can deliver a good deal for
the public as well as creating valuable alternative employment opportunities. Trade unions know this too. Applied sensibly, these guidelines will ensure that their concerns are listened to.  I want to see trade unions use it in that way.

“I also look to other Departments and public bodies to remove the cloak of secrecy surrounding PFI and allow the free flow of information on PFI projects. Hiding behind the empty phrase “commercial confidentiality” will no longer be the easy option.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 1 October 1998.

In Ottawa today Chancellor Gordon Brown unveiled a comprehensive strategy to assist in the poorest and most vulnerable countries’ efforts to reduce poverty.

The international community has made the halving of world poverty levels an overarching objective for the new millennium.  For those countries burdened by debt and the legacy of conflict, we need a comprehensive approach to support them in achieving this goal.  This approach should involve:

• Decisions by Spring 1999 on a framework for helping post conflict countries, which will provide early financial and technical assistance; advance debt relief; and deal with arrears;
• A wide-ranging review of the HIPC Initiative in mid 1999.  Such a review will help to ensure that the HIPC Initiative really does provide a lasting and final exit from the burden of unsustainable debt;
• Ensuring that 22 countries have reached their decision points under HIPC by the end of 1999; and
• Making further progress on an international commitment to ensure that export credits will only support productive expenditure.

The UK is committed to achieving these objectives.  We will press forward with this agenda at the Annual Meetings.  The UK is prepared to support these policies by;

• Contributing to any IDA managed trust fund for post conflict countries;
• Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development, will announce tomorrow a substantial additional contribution to the HIPC trust fund to help the African Development Bank meet its share of HIPC costs;
• A willingness to contribute to international efforts to fill any financing gaps that remain to secure debt sustainabillity  for HIPCs that require more than 80% relief from the Paris Club;
• A further contribution to funding for technical assistance in debt management, to support faster resolution of debt reconciliation, and support the principle of a stronger debtor voice; and
• A UK commitment to allowing export credits for HIPCs only for productive expenditure.

The Chancellor said:

“The priority now is to deliver the Mauritius Mandate.  It would be a tragedy if the turmoil in emerging markets led the world to lose sight of the plight of some of poorest indebted countries.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 24 April 1998.

Tim Wilson, who previously worked for HM Prison Service, has been appointed to succeed Peter Wanless as Head of the Treasury Taskforce Private Finance Policy Team, following the departure of Mr Wanless to the Department for Education and Employment, the Treasury announced today.

Since May 1995, Mr Wilson has been head of the Contracts and Competition Group (CCG) unit within HM Prison Service (England and Wales), responsible for the award of contracts for the private management of prisons. Since then, the CCG has delivered 1,900 PFI prison places at three sites, all of which were brought into use on time or ahead of schedule.

Mr Wilson has spoken about the contractual management of prisons and PFI procurement at a number of conferences in the United States and Canada as well as in England. He is due to speak at a workshop session on the Prison Service’s experience at the first Taskforce Conference (“Better, Faster, Cheaper – Making the PFI Work”) at the Business Design Centre, London on Monday 27 April.

He is also a member of the Evaluation Panel for the Republic of South Africa’s privately funded prison programme which is based on many of the same approaches to the contractual management of prisons and PFI procurement as those followed by the Prison Service.

Mr Wilson is due to take up appointment at the beginning of May. He is 47, and has four children.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 26 November 1998.

“The Financial Services and Markets Bill will, by creating a single regulator with a single authorisation process, a single compensation scheme, a single ombudsman, and a single appeals tribunal, reduce the amount of regulation whilst at the same time provide for greater accountability, ” Chief Secretary Stephen Byers will say in a speech to City financiers tonight.

Speaking to the Corporation of London Finance Committee Annual Dinner he will stress that the Government is determined to make sure that its plans for reforming the regulatory structure of the financial services industry will be used as an opportunity to reduce the amount of regulation.

He will say:

“Modernisation and reform are the hallmarks of the Government’s new legislative programme set out earlier this week, and our plans to reform the regulation of the financial services industry are a reflection of our modernisation agenda.

Excessive regulation gets in the way of good business and is to no-one’s advantage. I therefore intend that the Bill will provide for the FSA to consult on the costs and benefits arising from regulations that they wish to introduce. In addition, there will be a statutory requirement for regulation to be proportionate.

These measures will ensure that the City can take advantage of the reduction of nine regulators to one by making sure that regulations are only introduced when absolutely necessary.These steps will play an important part in maintaining London’s attractiveness to the world as a place to do business.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 25 November 1998.

Action to prepare for the euro on 1 January 1999 among UK small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) has more than doubled since May,Minister for Trade and Competitiveness Lord Simon announced today.

But the overall level of preparation suggests that many SMEs have still not recognised that they may be at risk of losing out in the new economic environment which the single currency will bring, according to a survey for the Treasury published today.

Commenting on the survey results, Lord Simon said:

“This survey shows clearly that the number of UK businesses preparing for the launch of the euro on 1 January 1999 has more than doubled. This growing number shows that the Government’s work with business organisations across the UK has had positive results.

“We are making progress, but not fast enough.Almost half UK SMEs have trading links with EU markets and risk losing competitiveness. Of these, only a quarter  (23%) have begun preparations so there is more work to be done. But this is double the number who had prepared in May and the trend is encouraging.

“The survey suggests that about 200,000 SMEs who need to prepare are getting ready to face the opportunities and challenges ahead, attending courses and seminars and talkingto suppliers and customers. But we should not be complacent.There are still many who have so far done nothing.

“The report also shows that very few SMEs have focussed on the key market-related preparations which are so important to win business.  Customers and pricing strategies are just not getting the attention in comparison to changes to IT and accounting systems. Marketing changes remain a priority to ensure UK SME competitiveness.”

These figures are included in the results of the second survey of SMEs carried out for the Treasury Euro Preparations Unit (EPU). This follows up the first survey carried out in May 1998 which formed the benchmark for the Government’s national information campaign to raise SME awareness of the euro.

The surveys track overall awareness of the single currency, the sectors of SMEs likely to be affected by having direct or indirect EU trading links, and how far they have made preparations. Comparative figures for levels of awareness and preparation in England, Scotland and Wales are:

May 1998 October 1998 October 1998

	(All respondents)	(All respondents)	Those with EU links
Awareness of  single currency	90%	94%	97%
Awareness of 1 January 1999	11%	23%	27%
Will the euroaffect my business? Q. not asked	48%	62%
Is it important for my business to prepare?	31%	34%	49%
Businesses already made preparations?	5%;	13%	23%

Column 1 and column 2 show responses from all SMEs, in the surveys of May and October 1998 respectively. Column 3 shows responses only from those SMEs (approximately half) who have one or more trading links with the EU.

Levels of awareness and preparation for Northern Ireland are generally higher than in the rest of the UK The survey shows that SMEs in Northern Ireland had higher levels of awareness and preparations than Great Britain. 99 per cent were aware of the single currency. Over half (54 per cent) thought that it would affect their business; 47 per cent considered it important for their business to prepare; and 17 per cent had already made preparations.

Outlining action to help British business prepare for the euro, Lord Simon said:

“Since the election, the Government has worked continuously with British business to ensure that information and support to prepare for the euro are available. Firms will be able to hold company accounts and pay tax and VAT in euro if this gives them a business advantage.

“We have held business seminars across the UK and set up regional forums for business representative organisations to coordinate their preparations in every region. I am impressed by the determination of businessmen and women to ensure that their businesses are ready.

“Our set of 20 fact sheets, helping businesses look at their trading activities and identify action points, have been very popular as an excellent starting point for firms looking to prepare. Boosted by our TV and other advertising, over 300,000 have already been requested.

“The Government will continue to help UK SMEs up to and beyond 1 January 1999. It is vital that they do now take urgent steps to prepare for the coming change to the whole European business environment.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 20 November 1998.

An open national debate on how to boost Britain’s productivity performance was launched today by Chancellor Gordon Brown as part of the Pre-Budget Report consultation. Together with Scottish Office Business and Industry Minister, Lord Macdonald, the Chancellor hosted the first nationwide “Productivity Challenge” roadshow in Edinburgh.

Speaking before an audience of local business people and others from the world of education and training, the Chancellor said:

“Britain today faces a major challenge – the productivity challenge.  Our productivity is now way behind that of our major competitors.  Productivity levels in the US are 40 per cent higher than in Britain, and 20 per cent higher in Germany than here.

“This problem has been ignored for too long.  We need to tackle it now.  We need to raise our game.  Improving our productivity is the key to a stronger economy – to higher growth, more jobs and opportunities, and better living standards for us all. We have made a good start through the Government’s Private Finance Initiative, which expects to invest over #300 million this year and over #1 billion in the next three years in Scotland alone.

“The Pre-Budget Report has begun to set out what we must do to equip the British economy for the challenge ahead.  The Government wants to work together with business and educators to raise our productivity and match the best in the world.

“That is why I am here today, to discuss what needs to be done to meet the productivity challenge.”

Lord Macdonald said:

“I am delighted to welcome the productivity roadshow to Edinburgh.  Scotland has a vital role to play in meeting the productivity challenge.  This morning’s event will do much to focus attention on how to boost our productivity performance in Scotland.”

The roadshow will travel round 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.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 19 November 1998.

Job creation and enterprise is the focus of a new joint working group announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and

Welcoming the agreement to the joint working group of UK and German finance ministry officials reached at the Downing Street meeting, their first since the election of the new German Government, Mr Brown said

“Our meeting was extremely productive. We discussed a wide range of issues, and it is clear that we share a common agenda for promoting growth and employment. We have agreed that we should use every opportunity to intensify co- operation between us.

“Our officials are already in regular, close touch. We have agreed, in particular that we should look together at what more we can do to promote job creation and enterprise in our economies. We have decided to establish a joint working group to study these issues and report back to us next year. This group will complement the work of the group set up by Bodo Hombach and Peter Mandelson.

“We can learn much from each other in terms of improving economic performance, for example, in raising UK productivity towards German levels. This points to increased  dialogue, to ensure that good practice is shared. The establishment of this working group is an important first step in this process.”

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

Getting best value for the £12 billion central Government Departments spend annually is the target of a review of central Government’s civil procurement activities announced by Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson and Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary Peter Kilfoyle today.

Launching the review, Geoffrey Robinson said:

“Peter Kilfoyle and I are convinced that efficient public sector procurement is an essential element in delivering the Government’s modernisation and competitiveness agendas.

“Some 200 Departments and agencies employ 5000 staff on procurement tasks. They spend £12 billion of taxpayers’ money every year. It is important to ensure the best value for this major element of public expenditure.

“Important progress has already been made over the last year. This review will examine whether the current disposition of procurement activities supports this and, if not, what improvements can be made. It will put us on course to deliver even better value for money for the taxpayer”.

The review, commissioned by the Prime Minister, will be undertaken by Peter Gershon, Managing Director, Marconi Electronic Systems, supported by the Treasury Procurement Group and the Cabinet Office Efficiency Unit. It will complement implementation of an earlier review of Government procurement efficiency and effectiveness undertaken in the context of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

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”.

The review will start on 1 December, drawing on private and public sector expertise. It will report its findings to the Prime Minister in February 1999.