Tag: Treasury

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 14 February 2000.

Lucy de Groot has been appointed as a new Deputy Director in the Treasury’s Public Services Directorate and becomes the first person to be appointed to a Treasury post of this kind from outside the civil service.

Currently working for the Audit Commission, Lucy de Groot, 48, was previously Chief Executive of Bristol City Council. She brings with her wide experience of local government and delivery of public services.

The main objective of the Public Services Directorate is to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of public services while keeping within the Government’s fiscal plans.

Amongst Ms de Groot’s initial tasks will be to focus on the Spending Review which will set the Government’s spending plans for the years 2001-04, together with clear objectives and targets for all departments and cross-departmental programmes.

Ms de Groot will be managing the teams dealing with education, housing, urban policy and social exclusion, transport, culture, rural and agriculture policy, the environment, defence and foreign affairs.

Ms de Groot has been working at the Audit Commission on a temporary basis with the new Best Value Inspectorate. She was appointed as the Chief Executive of Bristol City Council in 1995 in the lead up to the local government reorganisation. She has extensive experience in the management of public services and in cross-sectoral partnerships.

Prior to her appointment as Chief Executive, Ms de Groot was the Head of Policy in Bristol City Council and the London Borough of Lewisham. Ms de Groot has also worked in a number of not-for profit organisations dealing with adult education, housing, employment and economic development.

A graduate of Oxford University and the London School of Economics, she has been a non-Executive Director on the Board of Employment Service since the summer of 1998.

She takes up her post at the Treasury on 13 March.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 23 December 2022.

Laszlo Szabo, 49 of London, was the sole director of Letting Base Ltd, which was incorporated in 2009 and traded as a letting agency on Holloway Road until it went into liquidation in January 2022.

In October 2020, Szabo applied for a Bounce Back Loan of £38,000 to support his business, which had formerly traded as Hungarian Lettings Ltd. The company received the loan money the following day.

Bounce Back Loans were a government scheme to help keep businesses afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic, whereby companies could apply for loans of up to 25% of their 2019 turnover, up to a maximum of £50,000.

Under the rules of the scheme, businesses could only take out one loan, although they were permitted to apply for a top-up if the original loan was less than the maximum to which they were entitled.

Yet five days after applying for the first loan, Szabo applied for another Bounce Back Loan of £50,000 for Letting Base Ltd, this time from a different bank. And 10 days after this, he applied for a £12,000 top-up to the first Bounce Back Loan, taking the total borrowed through the scheme up to £100,000.

The following day he returned to the second bank, seeking a further top-up of £50,000 to the second Bounce Back Loan. This time the application was rejected.

Letting Base Ltd went into liquidation in 2022 owing more than £243,000, including the full £100,000 of the Bounce Back Loan money, triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators discovered that Szabo had made the four separate applications for Bounce Back Loans and top-ups, despite signing a declaration each time confirming it was his only application, and that Letting Base Ltd was entitled to the money he was applying for.

On 21 November 2022 the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Laszlo Szabo after he did not dispute that he had misused the Bounce Back Loan scheme by claiming money to which his business was not entitled.

His ban lasts for 11 years and began on 12 December 2022. The disqualification prevents him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Due to Laszlo Szabo’s personal circumstances, it is unlikely that repayment of the Bounce Back Loans will be made.

Nina Cassar, Deputy Head of Investigations at the Insolvency Service, said:

The Bounce Back Loan scheme was set up to support businesses in genuine need during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the terms of the scheme were widely publicised to make clear that directors were required to self-certify their eligibility for support.

Laszlo Szabo made false declarations to his company’s banks, and then entered liquidation having made no repayments towards its Bounce Back Loans, which resulted in a loss of £100,000 of public funds.

His blatant and repeat abuse of taxpayer’s money has resulted in a lengthy disqualification, which will serve to safeguard the economy from traders who exploit financial support packages designed to help UK businesses.

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

An historic opportunity to look more widely at the whole question of audit, access and performance validation across central Government was signalled today by the Chief Secretary Andrew Smith as he proposed that a study be set up to recommend suitable audit and accountability arrangements for central Government in the 21st Century.

He commented:

“This is a great opportunity for Parliament and Government to work together to make sure transparency and accountability go hand in hand with the modernising Government agenda.”

In answer to a written Parliamentary Question from Jackie Lawrence MP (for Preseli Pembrokeshire) he said that the proposed review will cover the modernising Government agenda, audit/validation of performance measures, the implications of devolution, the wider European context, with particular reference to European Directives affecting audit arrangements, possible models from other countries and the relationship with other audit and regulatory bodies.

Mr Smith stressed that he was keenly aware of the importance of Parliament’s rights in these matters. He recognised the need for its interest in scrutiny, accountability and control of expenditure to be reflected in the way the review was undertaken, including the steering group for the study. The steering group will direct a project board responsible for the delivery of the study and the project board will have an independent Chair.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 3 March 2000.

“The performance of the UK economy continues to be impressive” and macroeconomic prospects “remain good” according to the latest assessment by experts from the International Monetary Fund.

At a discussion in Washington on 1 March, the IMF’s Board of Directors concluded that the Government was on course to deliver its central economic objective of high and stable levels of growth and employment. The IMF assessment says that “real growth has been strong…and both unemployment and inflation have declined steadily”.

The Directors’ assessment was that “the authorities’ policy frameworks and their track record of skilful policy management would be conducive to a continuation of sustained growth and low inflation”

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

“I welcome the IMF’s report on the UK economy. It clearly supports the Government’s new framework for economic policy, and our prudent and cautious approach to managing the public finances, and the efforts we are making to promote enterprise and fairness in this country.”

The UK has been championing transparency and openness in the IMF’s scrutiny of countries’ economic policies and performance. This transparency is a key element in avoiding future international crises. Today’s publication marks a further step forward by the UK. We are publishing for the first time the IMF’s report on the UK in full, along with the record of the IMF Board discussion of the report, and the UK’s statement in response to the report. The Chancellor welcomed these new publications, saying;

“The publication of the IMF’s report on the UK economy clearly demonstrates our commitment to open up the IMF’s scrutiny process. Today marks an important step forward by the UK in economic policy making, by making available clear independent information on policy that is an essential part of the new international financial architecture.”

Other points the IMF Directors have made include:

• praise for the “effectiveness of the inflation targeting framework in the United Kingdom”, and in particular “the forward-looking, transparent and pre-emptive approach.” They added that “the transparency of the UK monetary framework is already among the highest internationally”.
• a welcome for “the efficiency gains and improved public resource allocation arising from the strengthened fiscal framework”.
• They “praised the authorities for focussing long term policies toward achieving greater equity and strengthening productivity.”
• praise for the Government’s policies to move people off welfare and into work, and to make work pay. They note the Government’s welfare and labour market reforms “were aimed at strengthening incentives to work, particularly among jobless households.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 6 March 2000.

Proposals to revolutionise Government services for small business through use of the Internet were set out today by the Chancellor Gordon Brown.

The Chancellor was in Sunderland talking to local business people on the second leg of his Pre-Budget tour. He was accompanied by David Irwin, Head of the Small Business Service, in his first day in post and Lord Trotman, the former Chairman and Chief Executive of the Ford Motor Company, who has been reviewing the small business measures already introduced.

The Chancellor said that he was determined that:

“Britain will lead in the next stage of the Internet revolution. Our target is that within three years we want to become the world’s best environment for electronic commerce.”

As a pledge to delivering these aims the Chancellor has already allocated £10 million to the Small Business Service from the Invest to Save Budget to develop a user-friendly electronic gateway between business and government.

To further help small business, the Chancellor said he was considering two bids for funds from the Capital Modernisation Fund. These projects are:

• for the Small Business Service to provide information and advice via the Internet and through a call centre. It will create a cutting edge service to business through link-ups the speed of service; and
• for the Inland Revenue/Customs & Excise to create the ‘e-tax adviser.’ An electronic gateway would allow businesses to register as a company with Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise and register for VAT. It will be easier for business to find and follow regulations, provide a two-way service so business can access data as well as submitting forms and the service will be available anytime and anywhere.

The Treasury is now working with these Departments on the details of their bids to ensure the most effective service will be provided to small businesses.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 9 March 2000.

New measures to help people move from the hidden economy into legitimate work – and tough new powers to detect and punish offenders who refuse to do so – are the main recommendations of Lord Grabiner QC’s report on the informal economy published today.

The report suggests that every year billions of pounds have been lost to the informal economy. The report estimates that 120,000 are working while ‘signing on’ at a cost of nearly half a billion pounds to the taxpayer.

Chancellor Gordon Brown welcomed the report saying:

“Lord Grabiner’s report suggests that for years billions of pounds have been lost to the informal economy every year, leaving honest, hard working taxpayers, who play by the rules, footing the bill for those who either don’t pay the taxes they owe or claim benefit while they are working.

“His clear and comprehensive strategy, based on opportunities tied to new obligations is designed to tackle the informal economy with a package of new rights and new responsibilities. It proposes incentives to encourage people into legitimate work – and tough new penalties for those who fail to do so and continue to defraud the rest of us.

“The government is delivering more opportunities than ever before to work. Vacancies are at record levels and step by step we are removing the barriers to employment. But just as there are more opportunities, so too we believe new obligations.

“Defrauding the benefit system, means defrauding the poor and preventing us getting the resources to those in need. We would be failing in our obligation to those who need the benefits system if we allowed people to defraud it.

“I welcome Lord Grabiner’s report and in the Budget will announce in detail how we will implement his recommendations.”

The report, “The Informal Economy”, proposes new measures to tackle the hidden economy whilst at the same time making clear that some people get trapped in the informal economy because they are not aware of the legitimate opportunities that are available.

Lord Grabiner concludes that the Government should introduce new ways to tackle for those who persist in the hidden economy: including:

• new legislation to introduce a new statutory offence of fraudulently evading income tax, to be tried in the magistrates’ court;
• subjecting people, suspected of working while signing on, to additional requirements by requiring them to sign on more frequently and at unpredictable times;
• as in the USA, a ‘two strikes and you are out’ approach – for the first time, removing people’s right to claim benefit for a specified time if they have been convicted twice; and
• giving investigators the power to trace suspects by making routine ‘reverse searches’ of the telephone directory.

Among his other 17 recommendations, Lord Grabiner proposes incentives to encourage people into legitimate work including recommendations to:

•  set up an anonymous, confidential telephone line to advise those in the hidden economy about how they can put their affairs in order, and how the tax and benefit rules apply to them;
• build on the help that is given to people who start out in self-employment and extend recent changes to make it easier for people claiming means-tested benefits to leave benefit and take up legitimate jobs; and
• launch a new advertising drive to publicise the incentives available for people to join the legitimate economy, including the Working Families Tax Credit, and the punishment they will face if they stay in the informal economy.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 8 March 2000.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms today opened Westminster’s first annual ethnic minority business exhibition.

Mr Timms was visiting the Exhibition in London as part of pre-budget tour being carried out by Gordon Brown and his Treasury Ministers to take advice on the shape of the Government’s employment and enterprise initiatives for the years to come.

Speaking at the Exhibition Mr Timms said:

“We want to see not only the work ethic reinvigorated in every community of Britain but a dynamic business culture which encourages enterprise open to all. That is the message we want to spread – enterprise expanded to people and places too often forgotten in the past.

“We know that more than one third of all unemployed people in London come from ethnic minorities. But we also know ethnic minority businesses already play a leading role in everyday business life across the country. Businesses from the ethnic minority communities contribute well over £8 billion each and every year to the British economy.

“I have seen in other parts of London and across the country during my regional tours the contribution ethnic minority businesses are making. We know, for example, that the rate of business start-ups per head is higher in the ethnic minority communities than in the wider community. With more people in work today then ever before we now have a great opportunity to make sure the benefits of enterprise and rising prosperity and spread wider. That’s why this business exhibition is so important for Westminster.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 15 March 2000.

A new Treasury paper published today by Chief Secretary Andrew Smith projects a £20 billion expansion of the Government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme over the next three years.

Mr Smith was launching “Public Private Partnerships : The Government’s Approach” – the Government’s strategy to increase investment in the public sector to provide better services and better value for money – during a visit to Lewisham Docklands Light Railway station in South East London.

The paper sets out how the Government plans an expanded PPP programme which will add to the £12 billion deals already signed or re-structured deals by this Government, by securing:

£8 billion to modernise the tube;
an estimated £1 billion to modernise UK’s Air traffic control infrastructure;
more than 60 new education projects nationally;
25 new health projects nationally; and
12 other new transport projects nationally;

The document “Public Private Partnerships : The Government’s Approach” also sets out for the first time the Government’s objectives for PPPs and the underlying principles which are central to the way in which Government goes about developing new partnerships with the private sector.

It shows how the Government has modernised the PPP system by eliminating the obstacles it inherited to deliver an expanded programme, better value for money for the taxpayer and a better deal for staff in the public sector.

Mr Smith said that this capital investment would focus on the Government’s priority areas of health, education and transport and hailed it as a cornerstone of the Government’s modernisation programme.

He said:

“Public private partnerships are making a major contribution to the renewal and modernisation of Britain’s public services with better schools and hospitals, and huge investment in public transport.

“Between 1992 and 1997 no PFI hospital deals were signed. Yet in this Government’s first two years we have signed 35 major hospital projects and, including deals in the pipeline there are a total of 100 health projects in the programme. This represents the largest investment in new hospital facilities since the NHS was established.

“On average, privately financed projects are delivering savings of 17 per cent compared to public sector alternatives – this represents savings of £2 billion on a £12 billion programme.

“That is why we want to build on our achievements to date. Over the next three years we expect to sign contracts for projects with an estimated capital value of a further £20 billion. That will bring to £32 billion the level of capital investment this Government has earmarked for PPPs since May 1997.

“In launching this document today I am looking to the future and outlining a prospectus for partnerships. This will be seen as a blueprint to the opportunities and challenges associated with different types of partnership arrangements. Above all it demonstrates how PPPs will deliver real improvements to public services, for the benefit of customers, local communities and the country as a whole.”

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said :

“PPPs can harness the best of the private and the public sectors to modernise Britain – and ensure real improvements to our public services and infrastructure. This has been clear to me for many years.

“With PPPs, we can build new hospitals and new schools and improve our transport system, ensuring the private sector achieves best value for the taxpayer. At the same time, they can safeguard the public interest and protect staff – providing better quality services and giving modern Britain the infrastructure it needs.”

Public private partnerships help deliver the quality public services. By harnessing the disciplines, incentives, skills and expertise which private sector firms have developed in the course of their normal everyday business, they allow Government to deliver more services, to a higher standard, and more quickly than would be possible with the public sector alone.

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

A platform for spreading best practice amongst Public Private Partnership (PPP) practitioners involved in drawing up IT contracts was announced today by Chief Secretary Andrew Smith and Cabinet Office Minister Ian McCartney.

This platform takes the form of new guidance for IT PPP deals which builds on the development and success of previous Treasury Taskforce standard contract guidance across all public services. The guidance is expected to further improve deal flow, reduce the costs of tendering and avoid the pitfalls of the past when poorly drafted contracts led to the demise of some IT projects. The guidance sets out recommendations not only for contract drafting, but also for improving the project management of IT PPP deals.

Launching the guidance, Andrew Smith said:

“This is an important step forward in ensuring that project and risk management for IT contracts is undertaken rigorously. The document emphasises the need for strong risk handling strategies and formalises the pre-contract risk review process which has been carried out to date by the Treasury Taskforce on significant projects.

“I expect the adoption of the standard approach set out in the guidance to produce substantial savings and result in greater value for money for the public sector.”

The publication of this specific guidance document for the IT Public Private Partnership sector is just one of the initiatives that the Government is currently undertaking to improve the strength of Government IT projects generally.

Ian McCartney, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office who is sponsor for the Government’s current review of the handling of major IT projects, said of the guidance:

“This Government is determined that our IT systems deliver first-class services and good value for money. Suppliers share responsibility for ensuring that projects deliver the promised service benefits and come in on time. A successful procurement process is fundamental to the success of these complex but vital projects. The guidance we are announcing today is just one part of a comprehensive package of measures to ensure that we implement systems successfully and maximise the benefits of IT to the public.”

The Taskforce IT guidance has also received the full backing of the National Audit Office (NAO), the Government spending watchdog. Assistant Auditor General, Jeremy Colman, of the National Audit Office, said:

“The new guidance perceptively reflects the key lessons learned from the first generation of PFI projects in the IT sector, many of which have been identified in our own reports. The onus is now on government departments and the IT industry to implement the guidance and improve the prospects of delivering projects to time, cost and functionality.”

The guidance sets out how to manage the procurement and contract stages of IT deals and gives advice on the handling of risk. The guidance also gives recommendations for approaching major software developments. It has been prepared after an extensive consultation process with public and private sector managers of IT projects, as well as financiers.

It is expected that the publication of the guidance will encourage more financiers to support IT PPP deals, as the document provides answers to some of the bankability problems posed to date in this sector.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 30 March 2000.

A new shareholder panel of private sector managers and analysts, and the appointment of two new non-executive directors will bring greater private sector expertise into the running of the Royal Mint, Economic Secretary, Melanie Johnson, said today.

Welcoming the announcement, Miss Johnson said:

“These appointments are a key element in our programme of reform for the Royal Mint.

“The new shareholder panel will inject greater private sector expertise into the Mint and provide a more rigorous shareholder discipline. The appointment of two new non-executive directors will enhance the commercial expertise on the Mint’s Board.

“I am delighted to announce that John Dean, Hugh Beevor and Stephen Dawson have all agreed to become members of the new Royal Mint shareholder panel, and that Jan Smith and David Stark have agreed to become Royal Mint non-executive directors.

“We are very fortunate that five such high quality individuals have agreed to work with us in taking forward our programme of reform at the Royal Mint.

“The shareholder panel is an important innovation in the Government’s approach to managing public sector assets. We will be reviewing its operation after two years in part to see what lessons can be learned for other bodies in the public sector.”

Shareholder Panel

John Dean of Warburg Dillon Read – an investment analyst experienced in the smaller engineering companies sector. He was again ranked first in the 1999 Reuters survey of UK smaller engineering companies analysts. As part of his experience in the City, Mr Dean has considerable regional experience having worked as an engineering firms analyst in the traditional manufacturing areas of the North East and the West Midlands.

Hugh Beevor, formerly of Blue Circle Industries PLC has extensive experience of managing the relationship between a parent company and its subsidiaries. He was a main board director at Blue Circle with responsibility for 12 building materials companies. He is currently a governor of the Institute of Development Studies.

Stephen Dawson of ECI Ventures Ltd is managing director of a successful venture capital company, with over 20 years experience of investing in growth companies and turnarounds.

Non-Executive Directors

Jan Smith, formerly of the RAC, First Direct and Mazda Cars (UK) Ltd, now with her own consultancy has extensive business experience and a particular expertise in marketing. Her track record includes responsibility for the marketing launch of First Direct and the rebranding of the RAC where she was a member of the executive operating committee.

David Stark – formerly of Tomkins PLC and now of Chairman of Glentay Ltd served on the Board of Tomkins for 11 years. He is a qualified engineer and at Tomkins was responsible for 29 of the group’s companies, including all their European engineering companies and associated worldwide distribution companies. He is a member of the Competition Commission.