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Banking (Micronesia)
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to seek to improve the standard of banking regulation in Micronesia. [53968]
Ms Hewitt:
Banking regulation in the Federated States of Micronesia is the responsibility of the Micronesian authorities. The UK, however, supports moves to strengthen national financial systems, and is working in various international groupings to encourage improved standards of banking regulation and supervision.
30 Jul 1998 : Column: 410
Mr. Love:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress of his plans for reform of financial services regulation. [54816]
Mr. Byers:
The Government have today published a draft of the Financial Services and Markets Bill for consultation, together with a consultation paper and explanatory material.
The draft Bill will give effect to the proposals to reform the financial services regulatory structure, announced in broad terms by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his statement to Parliament of 20 May 1997, Official Report, columns 537-46. It is intended that the draft Bill will make the Financial Services Authority the single, statutory regulator for the United Kingdom's financial services industry. It equips it with all the statutory functions and powers needed to operate a single regime for authorisation and regulation of financial services business. It allows it to operate with great flexibility whilst ensuring that any burdens or restrictions imposed by regulation are proportionate to the benefits.
The Bill will provide the framework for single ombudsman and compensation schemes and a single appeals tribunal. It will introduce important new powers to deal with market abuse. It will also provide for a major element of external accountability for the regulation of Lloyd's.
The first stage of the legislative process was completed when the Bank of England Act 1998 came into force on 1 June, transferring the prudential supervision of banks to the FSA. Publication of the draft Bill is the next, important stage in the process. Full public consultation will be beneficial to ensure that the new system is efficient and effective. Comments are sought on any aspects of the Government's plans to implement the modernisation of financial services regulation by 30 October 1998. The Government also welcome the likelihood that the Treasury Select Committee will wish to be involved in the consultation.
Copies of the draft Bill and the other documents have been placed in the Vote Office and the Library of the House and can be found on the HM Treasury website (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk).
Since 1 June, the Financial Services Authority has made considerable progress in bringing together operations under the Banking Act 1987 and the Financial Services Act 1986. The Government have now decided, with the agreement of the Authority, that it should take further steps towards the full integration of financial services regulation that will be completed when the legislation is enacted. Accordingly, it will take responsibility for supporting the Building Societies Commission, the Friendly Societies Commission and, in relation to credit unions, the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies in the exercise of their functions, and for acting on behalf of the Treasury in the conduct of insurance supervision under the Insurance Companies Act 1982, as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.
To this end the Government propose to make an order under the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 to contract out the relevant insurance supervision functions to the Authority. The Authority will enter into contracts with the Treasury and with the Building Societies
30 Jul 1998 : Column: 411
Commission, the Friendly Societies Commission and the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies setting out its responsibilities in these areas. These arrangements will be in place to enable the Authority to take on these additional responsibilities in January 1999.
Mr. Caplin:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further developments there have been on the Tax Law Rewrite project. [54877]
Dawn Primarolo:
The Tax Law Rewrite project aims to bring clarity to our direct tax legislation, making the law more accessible to taxpayers and their advisers. The Inland Revenue have today published the project's second Exposure Draft, containing draft clauses relating to savings and investment income of individuals and a detailed commentary. Numerous innovative techniques have been adopted; in particular, the rewritten legislation incorporates easier to understand language, a more logical structure and shorter sentences. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
This Exposure Draft is the first of six planned for 1998-99. We are committed to proceeding with them all on the basis of the full and open consultation that has been the hallmark of this project from the beginning. I urge everybody with an interest in tax law to take this further opportunity to comment.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children have been born to mothers under the age of 20 years in each year since 1990. [52919]
Ms Hewitt:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Martyn Jones, dated 30 July 1998:
Mr. Soley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the international debt relief total is owed to the United Kingdom (a) Government and (b) financial institutions. [52246]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 28 July 1998]: (a) World Bank figures state that the total debt owed by the twenty countries identified by the IMF as eligible for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative is about $100 billion, of which the UK government is owed about $1.3 billion.
(b) The Government do not keep records of the debts held by private sector financial institutions.
30 Jul 1998 : Column: 412
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those compliance cost assessments since 1 May 1997 in which there is a net reduction in compliance costs resulting from a legislative proposal. [52962]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 28 July 1998]: There is presently no requirement on Departments to carry out compliance cost assessments where legislative proposals are expected to be cost neutral or result in a saving to business.
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the compliance cost assessments published by her Department since 1 May 1997. [52961]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 28 July 1998]: Details of compliance cost assessments published by the Chancellor's departments are contained in the 6 monthly command paper of compliance costs assessments.
Between 1 May 1997 and 30 June 1998 twelve compliance costs assessments covering the period have been published:
Mr. Denis Murphy:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which Government departments were charged with drawing up the criteria in respect of the review of NUTS 2 statistical areas; and what criteria were used in each area; [51838]
Ms Hewitt:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Denis Murphy, dated 30 July 1998:
30 Jul 1998 : Column: 413
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question on the number of children who have been born to mothers under the age of 20 years in each year since 1990.
The numbers of live births to mothers aged under 20 in England and Wales for the years 1990 to 1996 are published in Table 3.1 of the annual reference volume 1996 Birth Statistics FM1 No. 25. This publication is available in the House of Commons Library.
In England and Wales during 1997, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 46,316 live births to mothers aged under 20.
The Building Societies Act 1997 (Commencement No. 1) Order 1997;
The Financial Services Act 1986 (Extension of Scope of Act) Order 1997;
The Gaming Duty Regulations 1997.
The Industrial and Provident Societies (Credit Unions) (Amendment of Fees) Regulations 1998
The Friendly Societies (General Charge and Fees) Regulations 1998.
The Building Societies (General Charge and Fees) Regulations 1998.
The Industrial and Provident Societies (Amendment of Fees) Regulations 1998.
The Bank of England Act 1998.
Arising out of the Finance (No. 2) Bill 1998:
The Modernisation of the Transfer Pricing Legislation
The Controlled Foreign Companies Legislation and Self Assessments
A Modern System for Corporation Tax Payments
The Capital Gains Tax Reform.
(2) what consultations were undertaken with Her Majesty's Government, by Eurostat in respect of the review of NUTS 2 statistical areas, with specific reference to Northumberland and Durham. [51839]
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary questions on the new NUTS-2 statistical areas for the UK.
Following a public consultation exercise in Summer 1996, the Government Statistical Service Committee on Regional Statistics drafted proposals for a new NUTS structure for the UK which were submitted to Eurostat in July 1997. The document "Proposals for the UK Nomenclature of Territorial Units (NUTS) (May 1997)" describes the departments involved and the criteria taken into account, including those principles applied by Eurostat. Copies of this document are available in the House of Commons library.
Throughout the subsequent negotiations, Eurostat stressed that in their view the UK proposals contained too many NUTS-2 areas and that changes from the old structure were unjustified. Within the North East, the old structure contained two NUTS-2 areas-- (i) Cleveland and Durham, and (ii) Northumberland and Tyne & Wear. The proposals suggested the creation of three NUTS-2 areas within the North East--(i) Cleveland and Darlington, (ii) Durham and Northumberland, and (iii) Tyne & Wear. The sizes of the existing two areas, in population terms, were already smaller than the EU average, and creating three areas would reduce the UK average further. Also, in Eurostat's view this proposal was not consistent with their criteria.
We continued to press the case for the UK proposals in respect of the North East throughout the negotiations. However, after a lengthy impasse, Eurostat made it clear that this proposal was not going to be accepted. In order to reach agreement for the UK as a whole, we had to accept their position. In the absence of an agreement, Eurostat, with whom the final decision on the classification rests, would have continued to use the existing NUTS-2 structure for the UK with virtually no change in any region.
The NUTS structure finally agreed with Eurostat was published in a News Release on 29 June, and copies are also available in the House of Commons Library.
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