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Entrust

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when the contract for regulating the Landfill Tax Credit scheme was last awarded to Entrust; whether the contract was awarded by (a) tender and (b) open competition; how the contract was advertised; and when the current contract expired; [123618]

(2) what measures are in place to ensure that the operations of Entrust (a) provide value for money and (b) remain within Entrust 's remit; [123619]

(3) to whom the directors of Entrust report at annual general meetings of Entrust; and if he will make a statement; [123620]

(4) to whom the assets of Entrust revert in the event of Entrust ceasing to trade; [123621]

(5) if he will make a statement on Entrust's obligations to the Government, with specific reference to how (a) the meeting of these obligations is financed and (b) value for money is secured; [123623]

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(6) what guidelines (a) his Department and (b) HM Customs and Excise has issued regarding the appointment of directors to the Board of Directors of Entrust; [123624]

(7) how many directors of the Board of Entrust have (a) past and (b) current experience of working for landfill operators; and if he will list them; [123627]

(8) if he will list the directors of Entrust and their occupations. [123628]

John Healey: Entrust is a private, not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. It was appointed the regulator of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) by the previous Government in 1996. It works to Terms of Approval agreed with Customs and Excise and is closely monitored to ensure that it is carrying out its regulatory function in line with these obligations. The current Terms of Approval took effect on 5 October 2001, and are available on the Entrust website at www.Entrust.org.uk

Part of Customs' stewardship of Entrust is to monitor its expenditure. A survey in 2000/01 established that its administrative costs are in line with similar bodies. Later this year Customs will complete another survey. Under the Terms of Approval the Board of Entrust submits its annual report to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise.

If Entrust were to cease to trade then the assets of the company would be transferred to a successor body or, where this does not exist, to a body with similar objectives. The company is financed through enrolment fees from approved environmental bodies and through an agreed percentage of qualifying contributions received by these approved bodies (currently 2 per cent.).

Details on the Directors of Entrust and their experience can be found on their website. Also to be found there are the Terms of Approval which cover the appointment of Directors. It is the policy of the Board of Entrust that any appointment takes place in accordance with the principles laid down by Lord Nolan.

Euro

Dr. Naysmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on savings incomes of pensioners of the United Kingdom joining the euro. [123858]

Dawn Primarolo: As stated in para 5.142 of "UK Membership of the Single Currency: An Assessment of the Five Economic Tests",

". . . this assessment finds that the achievement of sustainable and durable convergence between the UK and euro area has not been demonstrated. Essentially this means that the UK economy would be more volatile in EMU . . . Pensioners would face greater uncertainty over the real value of their pensions."

European Constitution

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for his ability to determine (a) direct, indirect and company taxation policy, (b) overall monetary policy and (c) public spending levels of the EU's draft Constitutional Treaty section which passes to the EU the co-ordination of EU economic policies; and if he will make a statement. [120936]

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Mr. Boateng: The draft Constitutional Treaty will form the starting point for the work of an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). The Treaty produced by the IGC will be agreed unanimously. The Government will not agree to any changes which harm the UK's economic interest. We will preserve the ability of member states to conduct their own tax policy, and we will preserve the ability of member states to conduct their own economic policy, within rules agreed by member states in the Council.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with (a) colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and (b) counterparts in the European Union about the legislative competencies covered by the draft European constitution. [124777]

Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor has regular discussions with colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and his counterparts in the European Union on a number of issues.

Financial Services Authority

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many directors of the Board of the Financial Services Authority have (a) past and (b) current experience of working in the financial services industry; and if he will list them. [123626]

Mr. Boateng: There are four Executive Directors and five Non-Executive Directors of the FSA Board that have current experience of working in the financial services industry and two Non-Executive Directors that have past experience. These are:

Current experience
Sir Howard Davies	Executive Chairman
Tom de Swann	Non-Executive Director
Michael Foot	Executive Managing Director
Sir Andrew Large	Non-Executive Director
Gillian Nott	Non-Executive Director
Christopher Rodigues	Non-Executive Director
Carol Sergeant	Executive Managing Director
Stephen Thieke	Non-Executive Director
John Tiner	Executive Managing Director
Past experience
Kyra Hazou	Non-Executive Director
Moira Black	Non-Executive Director

Matthew Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings Treasury ministers have had with the Financial Services Authority in the last year. [123893]

Mr. Boateng: The Chancellor met the FSA Board on 17 October 2002. In addition Treasury Ministers have held a number of informal meetings with Sir Howard Davies and his managing directors throughout the year.

Matthew Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the Financial Services Authority is accountable to HM Treasury. [123894]

Mr. Boateng: The FSA is obliged under the terms of the Financial Services and Markets Act (2001) to produce an annual report assessing performance against its statutory objectives and principles of good

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regulation. It is primarily through this mechanism that the FSA is primarily held accountable to HM Treasury Ministers and Parliament.

The annual report for 2002–3 was published on Tuesday 17 June 2003 and copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Matthew Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the Financial Services Compensation Scheme is funded. [123892]

Mr. Boateng: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is funded by levies on the financial services industry. Levies are normally raised once every financial year to cover the projected costs of the Scheme.

Matthew Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been (a) recovered from the liquidators of financial advisers and (b) paid to investors under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in each year since 1997. [123895]

Mr. Boateng: With effect from 1 December 2001 the Financial Services Compensation Scheme replaced several separate Compensation Schemes.

The FSCS confirm that for the period 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2003 the amount recovered by the compensation scheme(s) from third parties (not only liquidators or the firms themselves, but any third party) was in total approximately 12.8 million. The breakdown of the figure is as follows:

	£ million
1997–98	0.399
1998–99	0.609
1999–2000	0.373
2000–01	0.873
2001–02	2.097
2002–03	8.488

The FSCS also tell me that for the period 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2003 the amount of compensation paid to investors was approximately £246 million. The breakdown of the figure is as follows:

	£ million
1997–98	10.8
1998–99	16.7
1999–2000	51 .6
2000–01	58.5
2001–02	45.4
2002–03	63.0

Fiscal and Monetary Policy

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the record of effectiveness of (a) fiscal and (b) monetary policy in stabilising the UK economy in the last 30 years. [122151]

Mr. Boateng: The last 30 years saw a history of stop-go in the UK economy. Since the introduction if the new monetary policy framework in 1997 PRIX inflation has fluctuated in the narrow range of 1.5 per cent. to

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3.2 per cent. and averaged 2.3 per cent., close to the Government's target. Long-term inflation expectations show that inflation is expected to remain close to the Government's target; and the framework has also dealt successfully with unexpected events.

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