Tag: Treasury

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 14 January 2003.

A massive transfer of resources – up to £2 billion – will go from men to women through the new Tax Credits from April this year, said Chancellor Gordon Brown today, as a new poll shows that two-thirds of people believe that all support for children should be paid to the mother, and only one per cent think it should be paid to the father.

Even the vast majority of men believe all support for children should be paid to the mother: 64 per cent believed that it should be paid to the mother and only 1 per cent that it should go to the father.

70 per cent of all those polled said that the mother is most likely to ensure that the money goes to the needs of the children. While 28 per cent said it made no difference which parent received the money, only two per cent said fathers would be most likely to ensure that the money goes to the needs of the children.

Mr Brown and Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt also published wide ranging proposals to help parents balance work and family life.

Chancellor Gordon Brown said:

“April’s new Tax Credits are the biggest financial boost for mothers since the introduction of Child Benefit, and evidence shows that money paid direct to mothers is more likely to be spent on the child, than if it goes to fathers. Up to £2 billion will be transferred from dads, to mums – for their children.

“We want to put families first by helping parents as they do the most important and difficult job of all – getting their children off to a good start in life.”

Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said:

“The new package of rights we are bringing in next April will give parents more choice and support than ever before to balance work and family life in ways which will be good for everyone – employers, employees and their children. The ‘right to request’ will help deliver modern, flexible, productive workplaces for all, with balanced benefits for both employers and employees.”

Mr Brown and Patricia Hewitt launched Balancing Work and Family Life: enhancing choice and support for parents which looks to enable parents to make choices and balance work and family life and asks for views on possible next steps including:

• following consultation on the home childcarers scheme, how to widen entry into the scheme to include people who are not already childminders;
• improving the tax and NICs exemptions on employer-supported childcare, including how they could offer a better incentive to employers to support childcare provision;
• whether to allow fathers time off to attend ante-natal care and the case for extending paid paternity leave in cases of multiple births and disabled children; and
• the case for allowing a mother on paid maternity leave to claim support with the childcare costs for her new child in order to settle her child into childcare prior to returning to work.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 January 2003.

West Midlands business will be on the agenda, when Economic Secretary John Healey visits Birmingham Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday 21 January.  The Minister will be listening to the views of business leaders from across the region on local enterprise.

The Economic Secretary’s visit to the West Midlands is part of a national pre-budget consultation by HM Treasury, with Ministers visiting different regions to hold discussions on key budget topics.

The West Midlands has benefited from a range of enterprise and productivity initiatives by the Government:

• Employment has risen by more than 73,000 and unemployment has fallen by 18,000 in the region since 1997;
• Over 93,000 young people in the region have gained new skills and experience through the New Deal, over 30,000 of whom have already moved into jobs;
• Making work pay for all, with the Working and Child Tax Credits, from 2003, will help over half a million families in the West Midlands;
• Creating almost 120 Enterprise Areas in the region, giving more people the chance to start and develop new business;
• Providing extra support to tackle barriers to business growth including the extension of the VAT flat rate scheme – the West Midlands has almost 58,000 businesses eligible to use the scheme;
• Tackling pensioner poverty and rewarding savings, with an estimated 350,000 pensioner households benefiting in the region.
• 61,500 children typically born in the region each year will benefit from further development of the new Child Trust Fund, ensuring that young people start their adult lives with a pot of savings.

John Healey commented: “The West Midlands has a strong tradition of industry and enterprise. We acknowledge the pressures that businesses are facing, and now I want to hear first-hand from local businesses how we can better support Britain’s entrepreneurs. This is a valuable discussion as we put in place preparations for the Budget.

“The Government wants to build a stronger, more enterprising economy and a fairer society. The West Midlands can make a huge contribution to that.”

The Minister then visits a social enterprise in central Birmingham, which works with people suffering from addictions – helping them to overcome their problems and giving them the opportunity to learn about and actually run a business.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 January 2003.

Representatives from a variety of Leicestershire companies and other organisations met the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Healey, on Tuesday 21 January 2003 as part of a series of pre-Budget consultation visits throughout the country.

The East Midlands has benefited from a range of enterprise and productivity initiatives by the Government:

• Employment has risen by more than 98,000 and unemployment has fallen by 27,000 in the region since 1997;
• Over 54,000 young people in the region have gained new skills and experience through the New Deal, over 20,000 of whom have already moved into jobs;
• Making work pay for all, with the Working and Child Tax Credits, from 2003, will help 400,000 families in the East Midlands;
• Creating over 130 Enterprise Areas in the region, giving more people the chance to start and develop new business;
• Providing extra support to tackle barriers to business growth including the extension of the VAT flat rate scheme – the East Midlands has almost 38,000 businesses eligible to use the scheme;
• Tackling pensioner poverty and rewarding savings, with an estimated 300,000 pensioner households benefiting in the region.
• 45,800 children typically born in the region each year will benefit from further development of the new Child Trust Fund, ensuring that young people start their adult lives with a pot of savings.

John Healey commented: “The East Midlands has a strong tradition of industry and enterprise. We acknowledge the pressures that businesses are facing, and now I want to hear first-hand from local businesses how we can better support Britain’s entrepreneurs. This is a valuable discussion as we put in place preparations for the Budget.

“The Government wants to build a stronger, more enterprising economy and a fairer society. The East Midlands can make a huge contribution to that.”

The Government continues to support Regional Development Agencies as a strategic driver of economic development, regeneration and competitiveness in the regions. Through the Spending Review 2002, RDAs were granted a 4.5% real increase in resources between 2002-03 and 2005-06, taking the total single pot to £2bn by 2005-06.

Achievements of the East Midlands Development Agency include:

• The regeneration of a disused stretch of waterfront, to bring new prosperity and a better quality of life to the south east area of Nottingham City Centre;
• Championing the value of social enterprises as powerful tools against exclusion by investing £255,000 in a new multi-partner initiative to promote growth in the sector.

Local organisations involved in the visit include Wilson Bowden plc, Advanced Tapes, de Montfort University Business School, Hallam Construction, Northcliffe Publishing plc and the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Minister also travelled to Lutterworth to see the work of learndirect at Focus Four which provides “any time, any place, any pace” learning for individual adults and businesses through three training centres in south Leicestershire.   Since becoming a learndirect centre in August 2001 and a learndirect Premier Business Centre in November 2002, more than 2,000 learners have enrolled for courses.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 23 January 2003.

A proposal for an International Finance Facility which could double the amount of development aid provided by the richest countries to the poorest was published today by Chancellor Gordon Brown and International Development Secretary Clare Short.

The Facility is designed to provide additional financing to help meet the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals so that by 2015 every child is in education, infant mortality is reduced by two thirds and maternal mortality by three quarters, and poverty is halved.

The founding principle of the new International Finance Facility (IFF) is long-term, but conditional, funding guaranteed to the poorest countries by the richest countries. On the basis of these long-term donor commitments, the Facility would leverage in additional money from the international capital markets. It would seek to raise the amount of development aid from just over $50 billion a year today, to $100 billion per year in the years to 2015.

The Facility will ensure not only additional money, but also value for money. It will do this by providing, for the first time, a predictable and stable flow of aid, allowing developing countries to plan long-term investment effectively and efficiently.

It would thus build on existing agreements, between developed and developing countries, with each country:

pursuing anti-corruption, pro-stability policies and agreeing the necessary transparency in economic and corporate policies to achieve this;
committing to the Doha development agenda – a sequenced opening up of markets to global trade;
improving the environment for investment and private sector-led growth; and
as part of country-owned poverty reduction strategies, agreeing clear and costed plans for building education, health and economic capacity.
Chancellor Gordon Brown said:

“The IFF will provide developing countries that reform with the means to invest in schools and healthcare, roads and legal systems, helping to create the environment businesses need as well as create the conditions that will enable countries to participate in, and benefit from, global trade. And as families in those countries are lifted out of poverty, new and dynamic markets will be created.”

Clare Short said:

“The Facility could double the aid currently available, which would provide sufficient investment to enable every country committed to reform to make progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. This would help create a more just and safer world.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 10 February 2003.

The Chancellor announced to Parliament today that the Treasury is advertising this week for a new Chairman of the Financial Services Authority to succeed Sir Howard Davies.  The post will be advertised in national newspapers and through the Treasury website.

The Treasury will be looking for an individual of the highest calibre to lead the FSA in delivering a strong and effective financial services regulatory regime.

As the single regulator for financial services in the UK, the FSA has one of the widest remits of any international financial services regulator. The scope of FSA regulation will increase further when the FSA takes on responsibility for conduct of business regulation for mortgages and general insurance in 2004/5.  In light of this, it has been decided that the Chairman should be supported by a separate Chief Executive.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Chairman and Board of the FSA are appointed by the Treasury in accordance with the rules of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
2. Board members are appointed in a personal capacity and do not serve as representatives of particular interests or associations.
3. Sir Howard Davies will continue as Chairman of the FSA until his successor is appointed and takes up his post. This will happen before October 2003 when Sir Howard will move to the LSE.
4. The FSA became the statutory single financial services regulator at midnight on 30 November 2001, when the Financial Services and Markets Act commenced.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 13 February 2003.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Healey, was in Kirklees, Yorkshire, today to see some of the ways waste is put into action in the region.

As Chair of the short-term Ministerial Group on Waste, an initiative announced in the Government’s Pre-Budget Report, Mr Healey was keen to see waste technologies in use on the ground.

Visiting two Huddersfield waste management sites, Mr Healey said:

“This is proving to be a useful first-hand experience. I have seen some novel approaches to waste management in practice and I have been struck by the commitment shown by all concerned.”

The Minister toured the materials recycling facility and the energy from waste plant on Diamond Street, Huddersfield, both operated by SITA Kirklees. The materials recycling facility deals with 12,000 tonnes of material collected from local homes each year. Similarly, the energy from waste plant can deal with 136,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste annually. Waste is incinerated and, using state of the art technology, the heat produced is used to raise steam to drive a turbine and produce electricity for the National Grid.

Accompanied by Cllr David Payne of Kirklees Council’s Environment and Transportation Cabinet, Mr Healey heard how the Council and SITA are also currently considering using some of the energy produced for district heating.

From high tech turbines the Minister then moved on to more basic technology with an award-winning Huddersfield project that turns waste cardboard into caviar using little more than worms, and at the same time gives local young people a chance to gain some specialised training and national vocational qualifications.

The ABLE project, which recently won a National Grid Community 21 Award, involves a partnership between the Green Business Network, East Wakefield PCT, and Turning Point. It involves a cyclical process in which waste cardboard is put to use as bedding at a local equestrian centre, before being composted in worm beds, and the excess worms fed to sturgeon fish that, long-term, will be sold as fish and caviar to local restaurants. Met by Project Leader Graham Wiles, Mr Healey was told how the scheme has just been given 34 acres of land by Yorkshire Water to roll the scheme out in the Wakefield district.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 17 February 2003.

Increasing the momentum of economic reform in Europe at this time of global risk and uncertainty is the key theme of a new report issued by the Government.

Today’s report ‘Meeting the Challenge: Economic Reform in Europe’ evaluates the progress made on economic reform within the EU since the March 2000 Lisbon European Council, and identifies the priorities for future action.  It finds that while some progress has been made towards meeting the Lisbon Council objective of transforming the European economy into the most dynamic and competitive in the world, there is much more to do.

The key priorities for reform set out in the report, which should form the basis for discussion at the Brussels European Council under the Greek Presidency on 21st March, include:

• Policies to boost employment, skills and to make labour markets more flexible, with each country taking action domestically to tackle unemployment.
• Promotion of well-regulated, dynamic and flexible markets by dismantling regulatory barriers in order to simplify the burdens on business. In future, all new legislation must be thoroughly examined to ensure that it improves the climate for business and reflects the views of European firms.
• Measures to promote Research and Development and to tackle barriers to innovation, by both increasing R&D spending and improving the effectiveness and commercial use of research.
• A more strategic approach to competition policy, with competition authorities that look at markets as well as reacting to cases, with genuine liberalisation across the single market in goods and services, and a focus on results not just legislation.
• A modernised and streamlined state aids regime, to ensure the rules and their implementation support economic growth both at the national and regional level.

The Treasury’s main report is accompanied by ‘Structural Indicators of European Economic Reform: Measuring Europe’s Progress, February 2003’, which examines progress over a wide set of indicators.  Achieving the Lisbon goal requires economic reform based upon robust evidence and complemented by rigorous monitoring of outcomes.  A comprehensive set of structural indicators has been developed in recognition of this.  Indicators on key policy areas help to identify best practice, to monitor progress against targets and to highlight strengths and weaknesses.

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

“At this challenging time for the world economy each continent has to play its part to maintain the conditions for stability and growth. In the US, alongside action on monetary and fiscal policy, steps are being taken to reform accounting and auditing standards. Japan is in the process of reform of its financial and banking sector. And in Europe we must do more to reform our product, labour and capital markets so as to make our economies more flexible.

“While some progress has been made, the collective challenge we face is immense. Levels of productivity, employment and growth have consistently underperformed those of the US in the past decade. If Europe is to fulfil its ambition to be a world economic leader, and not remain vulnerable to the ups and downs of the world economic cycle, then it is vital that we demonstrate our commitment at next month’s Brussels Council to implement the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves.”

“As we push ahead with these reforms we need a common understanding that in a world where businesses must respond quickly and people must adapt to change, flexibility in product, labour and capital markets is the means to achieve, not the enemy of, social justice. We should recognise that the right kind of flexibility in European product, labour and capital markets can advance both economic efficiency and social cohesion.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 February 2003.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Paul Boateng, will today meet representatives in Edinburgh of Scottish business and trade unions with Helen Liddell, Secretary of State for Scotland, to hear their views on the Treasury’s November 2002 Pre Budget Report. As part of his two day trip to Scotland ahead of the forthcoming Budget he will also see for himself the positive impact on Edinburgh and Glasgow of Private Finance initiative (PFI) projects and the Scottish Executive’s delivery on public services.

Welcoming the opportunity to consult with local groups Mr Boateng said:

“The Government is committed to working in partnership with the Scottish Executive to build a stronger Scottish economy and fairer Scottish society. The Pre Budget Report last November set out our proposals, which will help to raise productivity and promote enterprise and employment opportunities in Scotland, build a fairer society and tackle poverty in Scotland, and protect the Scottish environment.

“The policies followed by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, have provided a stable and successful macroeconomic framework, delivering low inflation, low interest rates and low unemployment in Scotland.

“As a result of our prudent policies, the Government has been able to provide the Scottish Executive with the resources to deliver well funded devolved public services in accordance with the priorities of the people of Scotland.

“Scottish business and trade unions have a vital role to play in modernising the Scottish economy and I welcome the opportunity to discuss with them the proposals in the PBR ahead of the impending Budget.

“Through PFI, Scotland has seen £2 billion in investment in new schools and hospitals and over 65 separate projects – a massive investment in public services. It shows that a partnership approach between the public and private sectors delivers complex infrastructure projects on time and on budget.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 25 February 2003.

New improved tax and NICs incentives will enable employers to play their part in meeting the childcare needs of all their employees, Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo said today.

The proposals mark another step towards achieving the Government’s vision of every parent being to find affordable, good quality childcare.

Launching the consultation document, Dawn Primarolo said:

“The Government is determined to help parents to balance their work and family life. Employers have a very important role to play in helping their staff to achieve a balance and particularly in helping parents meet their childcare needs. We are committed to supporting them in this and today’s proposals will help to ensure that more parents than ever before have access to affordable, good quality childcare.”

Stephen Burke, Director of the Daycare Trust welcomed the consultation saying:

“We welcome this review of tax incentives for employer supported childcare. It’s an opportunity to encourage employers to do more for working parents, particularly those on lower and middle incomes. The current arrangements need to be enhanced so that more employees benefit from help with childcare provided by employers. Beyond that, the review can examine how best to enable employers to fulfil their corporate social responsibility. More help with childcare will mean a better work-life balance for parents and a better start in life for their children.”

The key proposals in the consultation paper are:

• expanding the workplace nurseries tax exemption to include all forms of registered childcare, including approved home childcare;
• simplifying the requirements for the tax exemption to make it easier for employers to qualify by removing the condition for the employer to have management responsibility of the provision;
• introducing a new tax exemption for childcare vouchers (that are currently only exempt from NICs);
• introducing a financial limit for the tax and NICs exemption on all formal childcare provision (other than workplace nurseries) and childcare vouchers; and
• ensuring that where schemes are offered, childcare support is available to the whole workforce.

Dawn Primarolo was speaking at the Royal London Hospital’s workplace nursery, a model example of how an NHS employer can help its employees with their childcare needs.  Rachel Elu, a nurse and mother of two young children who are cared for by the nursery, said:

“Having a nursery on site has been extremely helpful to me.  It has made working full time possible, given me peace of mind and with the help of Working Families Tax Credit, has made it financially possible.”

Another working mother, nurse Jane Latchford, said:

“Without Fee Direct childcare would be too expensive and I wouldn’t be able to return to work.”

Paul White, Chief Executive, Barts and the London NHS Trust said:

“We have made great efforts in this Trust to enable staff to balance family with work commitments.  We currently provide 64 nursery spaces at the Royal London Hospital and we are opening a new nursery at Barts next month for a further 43 children.  We offer more than many other employers do as we subsidise nursery places using the employers’ NICs savings we make to benefit parents on lower incomes.”

Praising what the Trust has done Dawn Primarolo said:

“This nursery is an excellent example of an employer helping staff meet their childcare needs and provides first-rate support to vital public sector workers.”

DETAIL

Currently employees are exempt from tax on the benefit of a place in a nursery provided by the employer.  If the nursery is not on the employer’s own premises the employer is required to be wholly or partly responsible for both the financing and management of the nursery.

Widening the workplace nurseries exemption to cover all forms of registered and approved home childcare would enable parents the choice of good quality childcare that best suits their needs, for example registered nurseries, childminders, after-school clubs and approved home childcare.  The extension could particularly help parents such as those who commute or work shifts, and parents of school-age children or disabled children.

Employer-provided childcare vouchers are free from employers’ and employees’ Class 1 NICs.  They can be used for any form of childcare and to any amount. A new matching tax exemption for childcare vouchers is proposed to provide consistent treatment of employer-support for childcare to help parents to choose the best form of good quality childcare that meets their needs without being influenced by differing tax treatment.

A financial limit of £50 per week is proposed for the extended tax exemptions on formal childcare provision (other than workplace nurseries) and childcare vouchers to ensure that they are affordable and fairly targeted.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 3 March 2003.

At their discussion of the UK economy on 26 February, IMF Directors “commended the UK authorities for the pursuit of prudent and credible economic policies in the context of a sound medium-term policy framework” and noted the “strong performance of the UK economy” based on low inflation and sustained output and employment growth.

Based on a wide-ranging assessment of the UK economy prepared by IMF staff, Directors also considered the outlook for the UK economy including possible risks, the conduct of monetary and fiscal policy, measures to enhance productivity and employment, and plans for investment in public services.

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

“As the IMF Directors accept, our tough action to restore the public finances to a sound footing and to keep inflation under control, means that we have been able to weather the global slowdown while keeping public debt to GDP low. But with continued uncertainties in the world economy, it is important that we maintain our discipline and stick to our long-term course. So there will be no relaxation of the fiscal rules, no quick fixes and, with the recent Public Sector Pay Review Body recommendations coming in at around 3 per cent, no relaxation of our discipline on public sector pay.

“The IMF Directors also recognise the need to respond to the demand for better public services and rightly highlight the importance of reform to increase the efficiency of public spending. While rejecting user charges where they would be at the expense of equity and efficiency, reform must enhance public sector productivity and decentralise control to where it can be exercised most effectively in the interests of the users of public services.”

As in the previous three years, 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.