Tag: Treasury

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 23 November 2000.

The members of the Review Group that will assess whether banking services codes are delivering sufficiently strong benefits to consumers were announced today by Economic Secretary Melanie Johnson as :

• Michelle Childs Head of Policy Department, Consumers? Association
• Adrian Coles Director General, Building Societies? Association
• Janet Connor Director of Savings, Banking, and Consumer Credit, Abbey National plc
• Gerard Lemos Independent Director, Banking Code Standards Board; Director, Mortgage Code Compliance Board
• Stan Mendham Executive Chair, Forum for Private Business
• Brian Morris Director of Consumer and Retail, British Bankers Association
• Teresa Perchard Head of Social Policy, National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux
• Neil Simpson Deputy personal finance editor, Financial Mail on Sunday; thisismoney.com

Miss Johnson announced previously that the Review Group will be chaired by DeAnne Julius, an external member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee. All members will serve in a personal capacity.

Miss Johnson said:

” I am pleased that DeAnne Julius will be joined in conducting this valuable review by a high calibre team with such wide experience of consumer related issues. This ranges from the boardroom to direct consumer service at branch level; dealing with and commenting on specific consumer concerns and complaints; and representing the interests of small businesses.

“Their expertise and experience will help to ensure that the review produces a fully rounded analysis of how industry codes can be developed to deliver the improvements for consumers essential to meeting public concerns, and to taking forward issues raised recently by Don Cruickshank in his report on banking in the UK.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 28 November 2000.

Better use of modern payment systems will increase value for money, Andrew Smith, Chief Secretary to the Treasury said today.

His comments accompanied the publication of the third annual report of the operation of the Government Procurement Card run by Visa International EU.

The systems would include increased use of purchase cards, automatic credit transfer and consolidated billing in the move to make Government more effective in its business dealings.

Andrew Smith said:

The need for the public sector to adapt to modern and efficient methods of payment especially for low value transactions has never been greater. Not only would they provide efficiency savings and make government easier to do business with but above all demonstrates that government is truly modernising.

Making more effective use of the Government Procurement card will make it easier for Departments to meet their targets for purchasing low value items electronically. The opening up of these purchasing routes is a major step forward for Departments to increase efficiency in line with best practice techniques.

Brian Rigby, Deputy Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), an Office of HM Treasury set up to improve best practice procurement in the public sector, said:

The analysis tool we are unveiling today will help Departments measure their effectiveness in reaching the Prime Minister’s targets for electronic business in the UK that 90% of low value transactions are to be conducted electronically by 2001.

It will also help them identify where effort needs to be concentrated in the purchase to payment process in order to meet their targets. The new tool represents a further piece of best practice guidance to assist them to meet those objectives.

Andrew Watson, Manager for GPC, Visa International EU, said:

The third year of the GPC scheme has shown considerable growth in the number of departments implementing programmes and also in terms of the number of cardholders and the volume of transactions. To help facilitate this growth, the OGC, Visa and KPMG are all working together to ensure best practice is promoted across government departments and agencies to improve efficiencies.

The OGC is at the forefront of assisting departments in providing a new drive to improve performance in this emerging electronic era for departments to deliver best value for money in their commercial activities.

By making greater use of the Government Procurement Card (GPC) the public sector can derive further savings in this area of electronic spend.  The card targets efficiencies in the area of low value ordering making up 80% of the purchasing transactions conducted by Government and is therefore a rich seam of potential efficiency gains.

Transactions conducted using the card are a major component in the calculation model issued by the OGC that has been made available to departments to measure progress against the target of 90% of low value transactions being delivered electronically by 2001.  Use of the GPC is entirely consistent with the government’s E agenda and needs to be taken into the calculation.

The extensive take up of GPC as a payment mechanism to date in over 100 departments demonstrates its viability as a payment method for government.  Given the availability of this and other similar systems such as Automatic Credit Transfer and consolidated billing shows that Government has proven solutions readily available that increase efficiency.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 2 December 2000.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 December 2000.

Welcoming continuing progress towards implementation of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), Economic Secretary Melanie Johnson today said:

“There has been good progress on implementation of the Financial Services and Markets Act since Royal Assent in June. The Treasury has issued thirteen pieces of draft secondary legislation, and the FSA has published large parts of the FSA Handbook in draft. Consultation on the major draft orders published by the Treasury in October has now closed.

“We will now move to incorporate helpful suggestions as quickly as possible. We are grateful for the comments we have received and will be studying them closely.

“It is important that firms and consumers enjoy the full benefits of the new system of financial services regulation as soon as practicable. I want to see all parties involved in the complex and detailed process of implementation working to that end.

“The target I set last July of N2 in about one year remains. It is still too early to be more precise on when the Act will come into force. As soon as I can give a firm date, I will do so. I plan to do so during the Spring. There will be a reasonable time for industry preparations between announcing a firm date and N2.”

Sir Howard Davies, Chairman of the FSA, said:

“We welcome the progress that has been made to date, the Government’s plan to announce a firm date in the Spring, and to provide a reasonable time for industry preparations between announcing a firm date and N2. We look forward to full implementation of the new legislation as soon as the necessary preparations, including industry preparations, have been made.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 22 December 2000.

Chancellor Gordon Brown and International Development Secretary Clare Short today welcomed the news that 22 countries have now had exceptional debt relief agreed, amounting to some $50 billion.

Speaking after the IMF and World Bank announced the news, the Chancellor and Clare Short said:

“Last year we agreed the action that needed to be taken to remove the burden of unpaid and unpayable debt on the poorest countries. The IMF and World Bank committed that 20 countries would have their debt relief agreed by the end of this year, and governments of HIPC countries, as well as the international community have worked hard to achieve this. We are pleased that we have not only met, but exceeded that target. On average these countries’ debts will be reduced by two thirds.

“More importantly, this action has enabled us to take forward our efforts to tackle the extreme poverty which affects the lives of so many millions of people in these countries. It is important to remember that the measure of success is not simply the amount of debt cancelled, but the number of people who are lifted out of poverty.

“This achievement owes much to the commitment and dedication of Horst Kohler, James Wolfensohn and their staff, and the determined efforts of countries themselves to demonstrate their commitment to addressing poverty, and to using the money freed up by this debt relief to benefit the poor.”

Continuing, they stressed that the achievement announced today was an important element in the wide ranging fight to eliminate poverty:

“We must create a virtuous circle of debt relief, poverty reduction and economic growth. The achievement announced today removes a huge barrier to tackling poverty in these countries. We are very concerned that a large number of other HIPC countries are unable to qualify for debt relief either because of their involvement in conflict, or because they do not yet have clear Poverty Reduction Strategies which show how the savings from debt relief will flow to spending on poverty reduction. We call on all concerned to work for peace, so that we can begin to work together towards poverty reduction. We are committed to intensifying our efforts to help them resolve their conflicts.

“The UK, for its part, stands ready to assist, and continues to play a leading role on debt. From this month, debt payments from the HIPC countries have either stopped, or will be held in trust, to be returned later for poverty reduction. No longer will we benefit from these historic debts.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 11 January 2000.

The UK today took a lead in the international effort to encourage the wider use of collective action clauses in sovereign debt contracts,  particularly by emerging market countries, when it included such a clause for the first time in a UK sovereign debt contract denominated in euros.

Greater use of collective action clauses in debt instruments is one method of facilitating coordination between creditors and debtors and  promoting an orderly resolution of financial crises. G7 Finance Ministers agreed in Cologne in June 1999 on the importance of encouraging wider use of such clauses in sovereign debt contracts.

Welcoming the development, the Chancellor, Gordon Brown said :

“The international community must continue its efforts to develop a comprehensive new framework for crisis prevention and resolution between the public and private sector.

“Greater use of collective action clauses in bond contracts is one step we can take to promote better management of crisis situations where they arise.

“We have for some time included collective action clauses in our dollar debt.  By including a collective action clause for the first time in the euro Treasury Note we have announced today, I hope further to encourage other countries, especially emerging markets, to include similar provisions in their own foreign currency bond issues.

“By making the use of collective action clauses the market norm, the international community may continue to improve its approach to crisis management.”

The clause is included in contracts for the auction of a new UK Government Euro Treasury Note announced by the Bank of England today. This makes the Note programme consistent with other UK Government foreign currency issues.

The press release issued by 9 February 2000.

Chancellor aims for £1 billion more to be given to charity

Measures to encourage more people and companies to give more money and time to voluntary action were set out today by the Chancellor Gordon Brown in a speech “A Civic Patriotism” at the NCVO annual conference in London today.
The Chancellor outlined the case for a “new and stronger relationship between individuals, communities and government” in a four point plan. The plan includes:

• tax changes to promote individual giving;
• tax changes to promote corporate donations;
• measures to promote the giving of time and volunteering; and
• measures to develop a new role for voluntary organisations.

The Chancellor said:

“I want to outline the case for a new and stronger relationship between individual, community and government – for the renewal of British civic society – or a great British society which not only defines the importance of voluntary organisations, but engenders a civic patriotism.

“I want to propose a new financial foundation for this civic renewal – a modern financial foundation for charitable, voluntary and community action.”

The Chancellor confirmed his pledge to “put charities on a firm foundation for the future.” He encouraged charities to exploit the new tax regime which makes it easier for individuals and companies, to give with the aim – “millions more giving so that by the end of the year 2002, as a people, have given a £1 billion more.”

But encouraging more people to give more time rather than money was an important part of the strategy. The Chancellor said:

“Our next task is to encourage new volunteers, create new volunteering opportunities and to build networks that match those who can give help to those which need help.”

Work is already underway working with charities and the voluntary sector on key initiatives but the Chancellor announced that:

“To advance both and the giving of money and time, we will bring together all relevant parties – the voluntary sector, key government departments, business leaders, employees’ representatives and media experts – to examine proposals for a national campaign based on a partnership with the voluntary sector.”

The Chancellor stressed the importance of the voluntary community and charitable organisations’ involvement in projects like Sure Start and the proposed new children’s fund. He said:

“These are partnerships in which the voluntary community and charitable organisations can take the lead, using their local knowledge and skill to put their ideas and projects to work.

To encourage the social enterprise sector in Britain, which can play a vital role in the economic regeneration of deprived communities the Chancellor also announced the setting up of a Social Investment Taskforce.

The Chancellor made clear he wanted to see “more investment in the UK in social enterprises – projects which have social objectives, and are not simply profit orientated.”

The Taskforce will look at:

• the case for social investment and a social investment fund;
• identify barriers to the further development of this field; and
• propose solutions and models for the future development of social investment.

It will report by autumn 2000.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 11 February 2000.

Peter Gershon is to be Chief Executive of the new Office of Government Commerce, Andrew Smith, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announced today. Brian Rigby will be the Deputy Chief Executive.

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is being set up to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government’s £13 billion annual civil procurement budget. The appointment of Peter Gershon and Brian Rigby will ensure that the OGC will spearhead a new era of Government efficiency.

Speaking about the appointments Andrew Smith said:

“I am very pleased to have secured the services of Peter as Chief Executive and Brian as Deputy Chief Executive. It was Peter who was instrumental in carrying out the review of central government purchasing last year and we have at the helm two people who can deliver on the Government’s modernisation and competitiveness agenda.

“Peter is highly respected in the private sector and we are fortunate to have acquired his services. His skills in IT, industry and business are second to none and, along with Brian’s own civil service experience in procurement balanced with his private sector skills, we have the ideal partnership.

“In the developing electronic age, we must seize the opportunity to combine a new era of central Government efficiency with the huge potential from its civil procurement buying power to deliver real savings for the taxpayer.”

Sir Richard Evans, Chairman of BAE Systems, commented :

“Peter Gershon’s appointment to this key new government body is fitting recognition of his outstanding capabilities as a manager. Whilst we are naturally sorry to lose him from the BAE SYSTEMS team, we recognise the importance Ministers attach to this move and wish him every success.”

The Office of Government Commerce will oversee the purchasing activity of some 200 Government departments and agencies employing some 5000 staff on procurement tasks and spending some £13 billion of taxpayers’ money every year. The OGC will perform an important role in the Government’s modernisation and competitiveness agenda and will ensure the best value for this major element of public expenditure.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 11 February 2000.

Professor Stephen Nickell has been appointed to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the Chancellor Gordon Brown announced today.

Professor Nickell is currently School Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics (LSE). Professor Nickell will take up his membership of the MPC on 1 June. He will replace Professor Willem Buiter whose three-year term as a member of the MPC expires on 31 May. Professor Buiter has been appointed Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Gordon Brown said:

“I am delighted that Stephen Nickell has agreed to join the Monetary Policy Committee. He has had a long and distinguished academic career, and his expertise in such areas as the labour market and productivity growth will be of invaluable assistance to the work of the Committee.

“I am very grateful to Willem Buiter for his excellent contribution to the Committee’s work in the first three years of its existence, and wish him well in his new post.”

CURRICULUM VITAE

Name: STEPHEN JOHN NICKELL

Date of Birth: 25 April 1944

Nationality: British

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

1. 1962-65 BSc Mathematics
Pembroke College, Cambridge University

2. 1968-1970 MSc Mathematical Economics and Econometrics (distinction)
London School of Economics
Ely Devons Prize

EMPLOYMENT

1. 1998 – Date School Professor of Economics, London School of Economics

2. 1984 – 1998 Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute of Economics and Statistics, University of Oxford. Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College.

3. 1979-84 Professor of Economics, London School of Economics.

4. 1979 Visiting Research Associate, University of Princeton (Industrial Relations Section).

5. 1977-79 Reader in Economics, London School of Economics

6. 1974-75 Visiting Research Fellow, Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique, Paris.

7. 1970-77 Lecturer in Economics, London School of Economics

8. 1965-68 Mathematics Teacher, Hendon County School, London.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

General Academic Activities:

1973-87 Editorial Board, Review of Economic Studies

1974-75 Assistant Editor, Review of Economic Studies

1975-78 Joint Managing Editor, Review of Economic Studies

1977-79, Programme Committee, Econometric Society
1981-83 European Meetings

1980-85 Programme Committee, Econometric Society World Congress

1981-89 Treasury Academic Panel

1981- Associate Editor, Economic Journal

1983-87 Associate Editor, International Journal of Industrial Organization

1983- Fellow, Centre for Economic Policy Research

1984-98 Editor, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics

1984-94 Council, Royal Economic Society

1984-87 Economic Affairs Committee, ESRC (vice-chairman 1985-87)

1985-88 Founding Council Member, European Economic Association

1985 N&g Lecture, Austrian Economic Association

1987-93 Council, Econometric Society

1987-90 Research Grants Board, ESRC; Industry, Economics and Environment Research Development Group, ESRC

1987 President’s Lecture, Scottish Economic Association

1988-94 Scientific Council of the Center for Economic Research, University of Tilberg, Holland

1990-94 Chairman, Research Grants Board, ESRC;
Member of Council, ESRC

1990- Advisory Board of the Institute for International Economic Studies, University of Stockholm, Sweden

1990- Governor of the National Institute of Social and Economic Research

1992 Mitsui lectures, University of Birmingham

1994- International Board of Advisers of the Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam

1996- Labour Markets Panel, H.M. Treasury

1998 Adam Smith Lecture, European Association of Labour Economists

1999- Council, European Economic Association.

Academic Consulting:

H.M. Treasury; Manpower Services Commission; Department of Employment; Department of Health and Social Security; Economic and Social Research Council; Morgan Grenfell; Reserve Bank of New Zealand; OECD.

Academic Honours:

1980 Fellow of the Econometric Society

1993 Fellow of the British Academy

1997 Foreign Honorary Member of the American Economic Association

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LETTER TO: THE RT HON GORDON BROWN MP FROM PROFESSOR WILLEM BUITER

I believe you have been informed by the Governor that I will not be a candidate for a second term as external member of the MPC. I am writing to you to explain the reason for this decision.

It was a singular honour to be appointed a member of the MPC. My period on the Committee has been the high point of my professional career. Membership of the MPC is the most rewarding responsibility a monetary economist can aspire to.

Your decision to grant operational independence over the conduct of monetary policy to the Bank of England was a bold and imaginative move. So was your insistence that the sole criteria for membership of the MPC would be professional competence and independence. The division of labour between the elected political authority which sets the target of monetary policy, and the appointed MPC charged with the pursuit of this target, without political interference of any kind, is a model of how a monetary authority should be designed. Even those who were sceptical at first must now be convinced of the wisdom of its design and implementation: the clear, numerical and symmetric inflation target, the existence of the ‘open letter procedure’, the transparency and openness of the arrangements and the accountability of those who participate in it. There is now a widely-based constituency for low inflation. There is growing awareness of the sometimes uncomfortable truth, that it is through the uncompromising pursuit of macroeconomic stability for the country as a whole, that we best serve the long-term interests of all its citizens and of its diverse regions, sectors and industries.

With the end of my term approaching, I have given considerable thought to whether I should be a candidate for re-appointment. I have come to the conclusion that both the appearance and the substance of independence of the external members of the MPC are best served by restricting their membership to a single term – three years as envisaged in the Bank of England Act 1998. Come May 2000, I will have served for three years, one year under the interim arrangement in effect between June 1997 and the coming into force of the new Bank of England Act, and the two-year term I was appointed to in June 1998, as part of the procedure for staggering the appointments of the external members.

Having reached the conclusion that, as a matter of principle, external members should be appointed for a single term only, I cannot in good faith claim special circumstances for myself, much as I feel tempted to do so. The past 2_ years have exceeded all my expectations. The new arrangements have worked and the UK’s model of central banking compares favourably with best practice elsewhere. I will look back with gratitude and a measure of pride on my term as a member.

I hope that, in the years to come, I will be able to support in some other capacity, the process of progressive, radical reform of policies and institutions in this country, which is now my home. I want to thank you personally for having given me the opportunity to be part of the process of embedding macroeconomic stability in the UK in a set of rules and institutions that will stand the test of time.

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REPLY TO: PROFESSOR WILLEM BUITER FROM THE CHANCELLOR

Thank you for your letter of 18 January.

I would like to thank you very sincerely for the excellent work you have done on the Monetary Policy Committee. You have played a significant role in helping to establish the credibility of the new institutional framework.

I am delighted you enjoyed your time on the Committee and I wish you every success for the future.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 11 February 2000.

The Chancellor Gordon Brown today spelt out the benefits of devolution and how working together the whole of Britain could rise to the challenge of e-commerce.

Chairing the first Joint Ministerial Committee on the Knowledge Economy, and also the first to be held outside London the Chancellor said:

“Today we are agreeing measures which will help us rise to challenge of e-commerce.

“By 2002 every school to be linked to the Internet. 1,000 computer learning centres throughout the country. 200,000 computers loaned to families who need them. New incentives for small businesses to join the e-commerce revolution.

“Amid the day to day news about devolution, it is important not to lose sight of the longer view.

“The case for devolution starts from the over-centralised, remote and insensitive machinery of government that we inherited in 1997.

“The old uniform and rigid state – with everything directed from London – denied expression to our regions and nations. So devolution does not create new identities within Britain but simply gives democratic expression to existing identities.

“And centralisation did not make for good government, nor does a centralised state reflect lasting and shared British values .

“So there is no question of a dangerous meddling with British traditions and the constitutional reforms we made were not invented in a laboratory. They responded to the strong sense that our constitution should be updated to reflect enduring and shared British values – not least that government should always be close to the people.

“The new democratic constitutional architecture not only rights past wrongs but better equips Britain for the future. The new devolved institutions allow for innovation in policy making.

“The proposed Drugs Enforcement Agency in Scotland may, once up and running, lead the way for the whole country. The Welsh Assembly has introduced new services for the elderly, leading, not least, in concessionary travel. And added to that is the innovative work of regional development agencies in England tackling skill shortages and the investment shortfall in their areas.

“It is good for Britain that new centres of initiative are already developing. Because in the new devolved framework, the whole of Britain can learn and benefit from the distinctive initiatives and energies of each of its parts. In a very real sense the new Britain can draw both from our democracy and our diversity.

“Those who assume that the next stage will be dominated by messy arguments about dividing up the spoils or simply by confrontation are also guilty of being backward looking – still looking only to Whitehall to solve their problems, arguing over who the centre will favour.

“Instead of people looking upwards to Whitehall for their solutions, from region to region, locality to locality, more and more people will themselves take more charge of the decisions that affect their lives. So the next stage will be further devolution and, through, for example, elected mayors, the democratic strengthening of local government.

“This does not threaten Britain – and its democracy – but strengthens it, applying lasting British values to new conditions. So British values and British institutions, until recently increasingly at odds with each other, are now coming together.”