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"Stakeholder" Investment Products

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Paul Boateng): The Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions are today publishing a Government response to their consultation paper "Proposed Product Specifications for Sandler 'Stakeholder' Products", which was launched on 5 February. It takes forward one of the main recommendations of the Sandler review of

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July 2002. Copies will be available in the Libraries of the House. The document is also available on the Treasury and Department for Work and Pensions websites.

UK Gilts

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Healey): The Bank of England's Registrar's Department has conducted gilts registration services on behalf of Her Majesty's Treasury to date, but will cease to do so from March 2005. A new service provider will need to be appointed to take its place. In preparing for outsourcing this service, the Government have taken the opportunity to modernise the arrangements for the registration and transfer of gilts. The re-engineered model has now been finalised, taking into account comments received in response to a recent consultation exercise. Details of the model are being deposited in the Libraries of both Houses today.

We plan to put the gilts registration service out to tender over the summer.

Industrial and Provident Societies

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Paul Boateng): The Strategy Unit report "Private Action, Public Benefit", published in September 2002, highlights some of the key challenges facing the voluntary and not-for-profit sector, and contains a number of recommendations for reform of this sector. Earlier this year the Department of Trade and Industry issued a consultation document on community interest companies, an alternative corporate form in this sector, in response to one of the recommendations in the report. The Government will issue an overall response to the report shortly. The Government now respond to the report's recommendations on industrial and provident societies.

The Government recognise the importance of industrial and provident societies and welcome their tradition of member engagement, contribution to the economy and service to the community. We are working hard to help support this sector to enable it to maximise the benefits it provides to members, the economy and society as a whole.

The Government have closely analysed each of the recommendations in the report and reviewed the responses to the subsequent public consultation on these recommendations. The response to the report will form a significant contribution to the Government's agenda for reform in the industrial and provident society sector.

The Government are supportive of the report's recommendations on the industrial and provident society sector. We have accepted in full or in part, six of the seven recommendations in the report. Several of these have already been implemented—either because they represent a continuation of existing policy, or they were taken forward by the 2002 Industrial and Provident Societies Act.

My hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Todd) recently enacted Private Member's Bill gives the Treasury power to bring forward an asset lock-in regime for community benefit societies. Such a regime was a recommendation of this report, and the Treasury is committed to taking it forward. The Government

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accept in principle a number of the recommendations, but will undertake further work before deciding how to bring them into effect. These include the recommendations on changing the name of industrial and provident societies to co-operatives and community benefit societies, easing member share capital limits and updating industrial and provident society legislation in line with company law.

We do not accept one of the report's recommendations, on giving co-operatives a statutory definition in line with International Co-operative Alliance Principles. This is because giving co-operatives such a definition would risk restricting the development of this form of industrial and provident society in future.

A detailed analysis to each of the report's recommendations on industrial and provident societies, together with a copy of this statement, is being deposited in the Library of the House and is accessible on the Treasury website http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Building Regulations (Electrical Safety)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Phil Hope): It was announced in a Written Statement on 10 April this year that preliminary analysis of the responses to the consultation on our proposals to introduce a requirement on electrical safety in dwellings into the Building Regulations had received broad support.

Full analysis has confirmed this support and the arguments in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) show that such an introduction would be beneficial to health and safety in reducing the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by defective electrical installations in homes. Overall the RIA estimates that there would be a net benefit over the first ten years of £93 million at current prices. The RIA also makes it clear that for the introduction to be successful there would need to be schemes of registered competent installers who would be able to certify that their work was in compliance with all requirements of the Building Regulations. Following the advice of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, I am therefore pleased to be able to announce that it is our intention to amend the Building Regulations to include a requirement on electrical safety in dwellings as soon as suitable competent person schemes are in place. I wish to do this as soon as possible and therefore urge any body intending to apply to run such a scheme to apply to my Department by 15 October this year.

Making householders aware of the need to protect themselves and their families from incompetent workmanship is in line with our drive for better, safer communities in which to live and work. The new measures will also raise industry standards and contribute towards our overall aim of creating a better-qualified workforce. They reinforce the emphasis in the Fire White Paper published on 30 June of greater prevention of fires.

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WORK AND PENSIONS

Remploy

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Maria Eagle):

Remploy's achievement against its targets set by Government for 2002–03

	Target	Achievement
Gross Margin the Company will Achieve Gross Margin of £53.7m	£53.7m	£52.7m
Progressions from Remploy Factories to Interwork and to open employment	2,000	2,138
Of which progressions to open employment	1,400	1,610
Unit Cost—operating deficit per disabled worker	£10,173	£11,484
Employee Development Time	5%	5.7%

Remploy will publish its Annual Report and Accounts in the Autumn giving further detail of its peformance throughout 2002–03. Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

In addition, I have, on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, written to the Chairman of Remploy approving the 2003–06 Performance and Resources Framework between the Department and the Company. The Performance and Resources Framework includes targets for the coming year. The agreement has been negotiated by the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The Targets for 2003–04 are:

a total of 1,650 progressions from Remploy factories or Interwork to mainstream unsupported employment;


Remploy Ltd. will keep within an average cost per supported employee of £10,400;


the Company will achieve a gross margin (sales less cost of materials) figure of £55m;


the Company's Employee Development time will be at least 5 per cent. The full Agreement for 2003–04 will be placed in the Library.

International Labour Organisation Conference 2002

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Chris Pond): The 90th Session of the International Labour Conference 2002 adopted a new protocol to the Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981 (No. 155) and Recommendation 193 and Recommendation 194 on Promotion of Co-operatives. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has today laid before Parliament a White Paper entitled "International Labour Conference, proposed action on one Protocol and two Recommendations adopted at the 90th Session of the International Labour Conference 2002 (Cm 5870)", copies of which have been placed in the Library.

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Standards of Decision Making

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Chris Pond): My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's Report on the Standards of Decision Making in the Benefits Agency, Child Support Agency and Employment Service for 2001–02 has been laid before Parliament today (HC 880).

This is the second report under the new decision making and appeals system introduced by the Social Security Act 1998. It covers the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002, the second full year of operation of the new regime. Overall the report shows improvements compared with the previous year. However, some aspects continue to be disappointing, notably overpayment recoverability decisions, but significant remedial steps have been taken in the year since the period of this report to raise standards. Quality decision making is a core element of DWP business and we can assure our customers that raising standards is a priority matter.

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