Tag: Treasury

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 13 May 1998.

In a speech to the Association of British Insurers in London tonight, the Chief Secretary, Alistair Darling, reaffirmed that the Government’s plans for reform of the financial regulatory system were on course. He said:

“Having a strong and effective regulator will further enhance the UK’s reputation as one of the best regulated and attractive financial markets in the world. We are determined to maintain the UK’s position. And our reforms are already underway. The first stage, the Bank of England Act, comes into effect on 1 June. The second stage, the draft regulatory reform bill, will be published for consultation in the summer.”

He added:

“A single, efficient, transparent regulatory regime which commands the confidence of industry and its customers will be of competitive advantage to the UK’s financial services industry in the global financial services market. The global market place is becoming ever more sophisticated, changing ever more rapidly. The right regulatory structure will enhance prospects for growth in this global marketplace.”

“For the first time ever, the new regulator will have statutory objectives covering market confidence, consumer protection, consumer education and financial crime. The Government is very committed to strong consumer protection.”

“We will, as we have said, publish the new regulatory reform Bill in draft in the summer. There is now consensus over the broad framework, but it is important to get the detail right. There remains much work to be done to ensure the single regulator works. The Treasury and the FSA will not be complacent about what must be done. The consultation period for the Bill is one way in which the industry can help us make it work.”

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 12 May 1998.

A major economic strategy for Northern Ireland, worth 315 million Pounds, was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown on a visit to Belfast today. Aimed at promoting enterprise and encouraging investment throughout Northern Ireland, the strategy consists of four Funds:

a 150m Pounds Investment Fund
of which 21m Pounds is for an Innovation and Tourism Fund
65m Pounds for an Employment and Skills Fund and
a 100m Pounds Enterprise Fund
Speaking to leading business, community and political representatives he said:

“The package that I have announced today amounts to a 315 million Pounds investment in the renewal and modernisation of Northern Ireland. The challenge we face is to build on economic and political stability, to promote enterprise and inward investment, to get people back to work and equip them with the right skills, and to build the infrastructure for a modern economy.

Having created a framework for peace, we can now create a framework for prosperity. For years we have been attempting to protect the Northern Ireland economy. From today, we can begin to build it.”

The Chancellor also announced that he would join Secretary of State Mo Mowlam in launching a 10 city tour of America in the autumn to promote Northern Ireland as a key area for inward investment.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 11 May 1998.

Dr Keith McCullagh has asked to step down from the chair of the Working Group on the Financing of High Technology Companies due to current pressures on his time. He remains a member of the Working Group. Dr Peter Williams (Chairman, Oxford Instruments plc) has accepted the Paymaster General’s invitation to take the chair.

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

Action Plans to show how the G8 countries are implementing seven principles to guide employment policy agreed at the “Growth, Employability and Inclusion” conference in London in February were discussed by G8 Finance Ministers today.

Commenting on the plans, published at the meeting of G8 Finance Ministers in London today, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said:

“The Action Plans show that the G8 countries are taking the seven principles agreed in London seriously and have made good progress since we met in February.

“The London Principles – including the need for structural reforms in our labour markets and to enhance employment, education and training opportunities for young people and adults to seek to prevent them becoming long-term unemployed – are being implemented.

“During the UK Presidency, we have focussed minds on action needed in the world’s largest economies to tackle unemployment and raise employment. We have an important framework in place to guide employment policy in the future. “It is important to keep these principles at the forefront of economic thinking in all countries. We need to share our experiences to generate new ideas to tackle these key issues.”

The seven London Principles to generate new job opportunities and to tackle unemployment and exclusion are:

• sound macroeconomic policies conducive to sustained non-inflationary growth and employment;
• structural reforms where needed in our labour, capital and product markets, including tackling barriers from inappropriate taxation or regulatory frameworks;
• fostering entrepreneurship and creating a climate favourable to SMEs, including through better access to venture capital;
• enhancing employment, education or training opportunities for young people and adults with the aim of preventing their becoming long-term unemployed and measures for groups such as lone parents and disabled people;
• reforming tax/benefit systems to foster growth and employment and to encourage those people who are unemployed or excluded from the labour market to look actively for work and find suitable employment, whilst protecting vulnerable groups;
• enabling and encouraging people to learn throughout their working lives – lifelong learning – to develop their knowledge and skills and improve their employability;
• promoting equal opportunities and combatting discrimination for all workers.

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

Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown today welcomed agreement with G7 Finance Ministers to conduct national studies on ways to improve cooperation between regulators and law enforcement authorities to tackle international financial crime.

Commenting on the announcement, he said:

“Financial crime exists world wide and affects all economies. It is one of the major challenges of our time.

“We can only tackle it successfully if Governments work together to combat it as effectively as increasingly sophisticated criminals work together to commit it.

“G7 Ministers today discussed how to achieve better international cooperation between financial regulators and law enforcement authorities to beat the criminals. We are aware that systems for the exchange of information are not as quick and efficient as they need to be.

“We agreed to review our national laws and procedures to see where concrete improvements can be made.”

G7 members will report back on their findings by October and come forward with recommendations at next year’s Cologne Summit. Ministers also welcomed the Financial Action Task Force’s decision to extend its mandate for a further five years, and fully support its intention to develop a world-wide anti-money laundering network.

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

Ten Key Principles for information exchange to improve financial stability through greater international cooperation were announced by G7 Finance Ministers meeting in London today.

Commenting on the meeting, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said :

“Given the UK’s past experiences with BCCI and Barings, the UK has been a longstanding advocate of improving co-operation between supervisors of internationally active financial institutions.

“Today’s report by financial experts from all G7 countries – in a group chaired by the UK – marks a significant step towards improving financial stability. The Ten Key Principles which they have developed establishes a clear framework for international cooperation and sets standards to which G7 Ministers believe all countries should aspire and which we shall promote throughout the world.

“Recent events in Asia have highlighted the need for such cooperation and emphasised its urgency. So we are especially pleased that the G7 has made so much progress on this issue since we met in Denver a year ago.”

The Ten Key Principles set out in the report from G7 Ministers to heads of government cover :

authorisation to share supervisory information with foreign supervisors
the sharing of information by supervisors from different sectors of financial services
cooperation in identifying and monitoring the use of management and information systems, and controls, by internationally active firms
the sharing of objective information of supervisory interest about individuals such as owners, shareholders, directors, managers or employees of supervised firms
information sharing between exchanges
confidentiality of shared information
the use of formal agreements and written requests for information exchange
reciprocity requirements
the use of information for law enforcement in cases which further supervisory purposes
the removal of laws preventing supervisory information exchange.

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

A major new initiative to tackle harmful tax competition was agreed by G7 Finance Ministers today at a meeting in London chaired by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.

The G7 agreement paves the way for more international exchange of tax information to curb international tax evasion and avoidance through tax havens and preferential tax regimes. It reinforces the recommendations of the OECD Report for curbing harmful tax competition and the complementary EU Code of Conduct on business taxation.

It also commits the G7 to leading international action on tax related crime by gathering more intelligence through money laundering systems and providing for it to be shared internationally by tax authorities.

Announcing the UK inspired initiative, Mr Brown said;

“Our agreement today represents a major breakthrough in tackling the growing problems caused by harmful tax competition, and the tax evasion and avoidance it generates. This reinforces the OECD’s vital work to curb the damaging effects of tax havens and preferential tax regimes.

“We are determined to put in place strong and practical measures to tackle the growing threat of international tax crime and evasion through tax havens and preferential tax regimes. The globalisation of business and finance makes this an increasingly pressing issue.

“This initiative paves the way for co-ordinated international action to allow information to be passed to tax authorities, so that honest citizens and business do not have to pay the price of the activities of tax fraudsters. We in the G7 are committed to building practical co- operation at every level to counter these threats.”

The G7 agreement;

i) reinforces the OECD’s Report which provides a platform for tackling harmful tax competition, and for obtaining more information about transactions in tax havens and preferential tax regimes. This complements and mutually reinforces the EU Code of Conduct on Business Taxation;

ii) addresses a potential weakness in international anti-money laundering systems by ensuring that financial institutions report suspicions about the movement of criminal assets regardless of whether they believe that the criminality involved is tax related. This is partly motivated by growing evidence that criminals can evade anti money laundering systems by presenting their affairs as tax related to reassure their bankers, brokers and professional advisors;

iii) provides an important new source of intelligence to tax authorities by making it possible for suspicious transaction reports received by law enforcement agencies to be made accessible to those investigating tax related crimes domestically or overseas.

To advance this agenda the UK will attach an officer of the Inland Revenue’s Special Compliance Office to the Economic Crimes Unit of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), which is responsible for analysing and allocating reports of suspected money laundering. These arrangements will allow domestic and international money laundering intelligence to flow to the Inland Revenue for the first time.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 8 May 1998.

Financial Secretary Dawn Primarolo was today appointed the first chairman of the new EU Code of Conduct Group.

Speaking after the first meeting of the Group in Brussels, Ms Primarolo said:

“I am delighted that the Member States have appointed me to this important role. Together we have a great opportunity to strengthen the single market and improve the working of the European economy.”

Chancellor Gordon Brown, welcoming the appointment, said:

“Dawn Primarolo’s appointment will put the UK at the heart of an important Community debate.”

The Group will assess the business taxation regimes of Member States and examine the extent to which they contain elements that represent harmful tax competition. The objectives are to reduce distortions in the single market, prevent damage to the tax base
and excessive losses of tax revenues and to develop more employment-friendly tax structures. The Group will meet regularly and report back to Ecofin council meetings.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 6 May 1998.

Chief Secretary announces package of measures to tackle market abuse Tough new powers to help the new Financial Services Authority (FSA) tackle market abuse and financial crime were announced today by the Chief Secretary, Alistair Darling.

The measures, including steps to tackle insider dealing more effectively, will be included in the bill to modernise the financial services system.

This will further enhance the reputation of the UK financial markets as clean and fair places to do business by giving the FSA more effective powers to deal with the few bad apples, including the power to fine rogue traders.

The proposed package includes:

• giving the FSA the power to prosecute cases of insider dealing, other areas of market manipulation and breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations;
• the power to levy fines;
• a new civil regime for combatting market abuse;
• a Code of Market Conduct, produced by the FSA, setting out behaviour which would be unacceptable in the markets;
• giving the FSA rule making powers concerning anti-money laundering systems; and
• the creation of a single tribunal to consider appeals against the FSA’s use of its powers.

The Competent Authority for listing (presently with the London Stock Exchange) will also be given the power to fine issuers and directors for breaches of the listing rules.

These powers will be contained within the draft legislation that the Government will be publishing for consultation in the summer.

Announcing the measures the Chief Secretary said:

“We are determined to ensure that the financial markets are open and clean places to do business. London’s reputation depends upon that. That’s why we promised to crack down on insider dealing. Now we are delivering on that promise to make sure that insider dealers, and others who abuse the markets, do not get away with it.

“The FSA’s job is to sustain confidence in the market and to assist in the detection and prevention of financial crime. The FSA will now have the powers it needs to do that job.

“Its powers of intervention and discipline will be tough and effective. In some areas we are significantly extending the options available to the FSA.

“These proposals will further enhance the UK’s position as one of the best regulated and attractive financial markets in the world. We are determined to maintain London’s position as one of the foremost financial markets.”

On the FSA’s power to levy fines, Mr Darling said:

“Putting the powerful regulatory sanction of fining on a statutory basis will greatly enhance the FSA’s authority.”

The introduction of a new civil regime for combatting market abuse, including market manipulation and misuse of inside information, will mean that the FSA will be able to impose a fine on any person or firm, regulated or not, who engages in this type of abuse. The Chief Secretary made clear, however, that these powers are to complement and not replace the existing criminal offences in this area.

The Chief Secretary also announced that the FSA would, for the first time, be given powers to prosecute the criminal offences of insider dealing, market manipulation and breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations. He said:

“As the FSA will have the relevant knowledge and expertise it makes good sense to give them prosecution powers in this area.”

On the civil fines regime, Mr Darling said:

“It is essential that the financial markets are protected from abuse. Damage to the markets damages the economy as a whole. For the first time, the regulator will have a set of coherent and comprehensive civil powers in this area.”

The proposed legislation will also give the Treasury the power to prescribe the markets, and the products traded on those markets, which would be covered by the new regime. Mr Darling said that the initial coverage was likely to cover abuse, on or off-markets, which affects investments traded on recognised investment exchanges.

The new regime would be underpinned by a Code of Market Conduct, produced by the FSA following consultation, which would give greater certainty to the markets as to what kinds of behaviour were acceptable or not. The Chief Secretary said:

“It is not our intention that the new regime should stop generally acceptable market behaviour – far from it. Nor do we want to deter proper innovation in the financial markets. The aim of the Code is to provide market participants with a clearer understanding of the types of practices that will be tolerated and those that will not.”

The Chief Secretary also announced the creation of a single tribunal to consider appeals against the FSA’s use of its regulatory powers. The tribunal will be independent of the FSA and managed as part of the Court Service. He said:

“It is right to arm the regulator with an effective array of sanctions but these must be balanced by a satisfactory appeals mechanism. The new arrangements will be at least equal to, and in many cases better than, those available under the present system.”

Mr Darling also announced new powers for the Competent Authority for listing (presently with the London Stock Exchange), giving them the power to fine issuers for breaches of the listing rules, as well as directors and ex-directors where they had been directly responsible for such breaches. He said:

“The Stock Exchange currently does a good job in setting and policing the listing rules but it lacks the full range of powers. I am determined to remedy that. Effective regulators must have effective powers.”

The Chief Secretary also made clear that the current recognition and exemption regime for investment exchanges and clearing houses would be carried forward into the new legislation. He said:

“The UK’s recognised investment exchanges and clearing houses enjoy a substantial reputation throughout the world. This is due in part to their special place within the regulatory framework.

“This is the right regime to be taken forward in the new bill given the expertise of such bodies in the operation of their own markets, and their strong incentives to deliver well regulated markets.

“However, the new legislation will give the FSA greater powers of intervention to make sure that, in the rare event that something does go wrong, swift corrective action can be taken.”

The announcements were made in response to a Parliamentary Question from Ivor Caplin [Hove].

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

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee today published its preliminary advice to HM Government as to how the life and work of Diana, Princess of Wales can best be commemorated.

The proposals are for:

• developing community children’s nursing teams  to support children with life-threatening and life- limiting illnesses and their families in their own homes;
• an award in secondary schools to celebrate and support the achievements of young people who make an outstanding contribution to the community;
• subject to public consultation, a memorial garden in Kensington Gardens.

There will also be a commemorative crown coin, which will be issued next year.

More detail of these proposals are set out in the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee Preliminary Advice to H M Government, published today.

Announcing the proposals, Chancellor Gordon Brown, who chairs the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee, said :

“The Memorial Committee received over 10,000 suggestions for memorials to Diana, Princess of Wales. We were impressed by the range and quality of these, and by how many people from all walks of life put so much time and effort into developing and presenting them. That in itself is a tribute to the regard and depth of feeling for Diana, Princess of Wales across the community.

“The proposals which we have announced today were amongst the most popular and appropriate we received, and we expect them to be widely acknowledged as a fitting tribute to her life and work.

“They recognise her concern for children and their families in times of sickness, when practical support and advice can often be as important as medical treatment.  They also encourage children and young people, whatever their own circumstances, to take an active and exemplary part in the life of their local communities, particularly in helping the more vulnerable.

“Members of the public wanting to remember Diana,Princess of Wales will continue to visit Kensington Gardens and the Memorial Committee feels that, in response to this, the gardens should be enhanced, in a sympathetic way, as a place of remembrance. A memorial walking route linking Kensington Gardens and St James’s through the Royal Parks  will provide a popular and healthy option for those wishing to visit the places closely associated with the Princess.

“It is essential and right that residents, the relevant authorities and the wider public should have an early opportunity to put forward their views on the proposal for Kensington Gardens, before any final decisions are taken. That is why Chris Smith, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has agreed to take forward a preliminary consultation exercise starting the week beginning 6 July 1998.

“I am pleased that Her Majesty the Queen has approved my recommendation for a commemorative crown coin with a value of £5, which will be widely available in time for the anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales’ birthday on 1 July 1999.

” The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee wish to thank everyone who has contributed to helping us in this task, both the many individuals and organisations that sent us their ideas for suitable memorials, and those bodies we have consulted and which have given us valuable practical advice on how to develop our proposals effectively and appropriately.”

The Departments for Health, Education and Employment and Culture, Media and Sport will make detailed recommendations to the Memorial Committee on how the respective proposals should be developed and implemented.