House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 19 Apr 2006 (pt 13)

19 Apr 2006 : Column 694W—continued

Pensions

Mr. Dunne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total annual contributions would be to the (a) NHS, (b) teachers, (c) civil service, (d) armed forces, (e) police, (f) firefighters, (g) judiciary and (h) Atomic Energy Authority pension schemes if the current market interest rate for the appropriate maturity was used as the discount rate. [63818]

Mr. Des Browne: Contribution rates to reflect the costs of participation in these schemes are calculated by scheme actuaries using assumptions which represent a stable basis for determining the accruing pension benefits over the long-term. A common set of long-term financial assumptions is used across the unfunded public service schemes. As is common practice these financial assumptions differ from those used to prepare annual accounts and do not necessarily relate to particular market interest rates.

Supervisory and Regulatory Staff

Chris Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were employed in institutions with statutory duties for the (a) supervision and (b) regulation of (i) banks, (ii) insurance companies, (iii) mortgage lenders and (iv) other financial institutions in each year since 1996, broken down by supervisory and regulatory institution and including his Department; and what the cost of such institutions was in each year. [63854]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the number of staff employed in institutions with statutory duties for the supervision/regulation of banks, insurance companies, mortgage lenders and other financial institutions since 1996.

Institutions

Self-regulating

organisations

PIAIMROSFA Securities and Investments Board⁽¹⁸⁾ Building Societies Commission Friendly Societies Commission Central Office of the Registry of Friendly Societies Financial Services Authority

1996–97 n/a n/a n/a n/a ⁽¹⁹⁾168 —

1997–98 n/a n/a n/a n/a ⁽¹⁹⁾162 185

1998–99 — — — — ⁽¹⁹⁾112 ⁽²⁰⁾1,768

1999–2000 — — — — — — — 4, 52,548

2000–01 — — — — — — — ⁽²³⁾2,156

2001–02 — — — — — — — 7, 82,196

2002–03 — — — — — — — ⁽²⁴⁾2,288

2003–04 — — — — — — — ⁽²⁴⁾2,312

2004–05 — — — — — — — ⁽²⁴⁾2,467

2005–06 — — — — — — — ⁽²⁴⁾2,826

n/a=Not available.
⁽¹⁸⁾ Securities and Investments Board—a private limited company formerly reporting to the Chancellor of the Exchequer with responsibility for the regulation of the UK investment market in accordance with the Financial Services Act 1986, was replaced by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in October 1997.
⁽¹⁹⁾ Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01 to 2001–02 CM 4615.
⁽²⁰⁾ FSA Annual Report 1998–99.
⁽²¹⁾ FSA Annual Report 1999–2000.
⁽²²⁾ In 1998, 1,464 staff transferred from the three SROs, the Bank of England, and FSA(SIB). A further 142 transferred on 1 January 1999 from the Insurance Directorate of HM Treasury, the Registry of Friendly Societies/Friendly Societies Commission/Building Societies Commission and the Treasury Solicitors.
⁽²³⁾ From the FSA's annual report 2000–01 and was the average number of staff employed by or contracted to work for the FSA.
⁽²⁴⁾ Full-time equivalent at 31 March.
⁽²⁵⁾ Until 1 December 2001 ('N2'), the date at which the FSA assumed its responsibilities under FSMA, the FSA carried out and provided staff to support, under contract, the supervision and enforcement functions of a number of financial services regulators, including the self-regulating organisations (SROs); SFA, PIA, and IMRO. At N2, all of the functions of these financial regulators were transferred to the FSA when it became the single statutory regulator of financial services in the UK.

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	Institutions
	Self-regulating
	organisations PIAIMROSFA	Securities and Investments Board⁽¹⁸⁾	Building Societies Commission	Friendly Societies Commission	Central Office of the Registry of Friendly Societies	Financial Services Authority
1996–97	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	⁽¹⁹⁾168	—
1997–98	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	⁽¹⁹⁾162	185
1998–99	—	—	—	—	⁽¹⁹⁾112	⁽²⁰⁾1,768
1999–2000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4, 52,548
2000–01	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	⁽²³⁾2,156
2001–02	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7, 82,196
2002–03	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	⁽²⁴⁾2,288
2003–04	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	⁽²⁴⁾2,312
2004–05	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	⁽²⁴⁾2,467
2005–06	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	⁽²⁴⁾2,826

Tax Credits (Overpayments)

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) level of overpayments and (b) cost to the Exchequer was of (i) interest foregone on overpayments and (ii) written-off overpayments of child tax credit in each of the last three years for which information is available; and what his most recent estimate is of the cost of administration of (A) the child tax credit system and (B) overpayments. [63343]

Dawn Primarolo: In answer to (a) for the level of overpayments, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames) on 15 February 2006, Official Report, column 2164W.

In answer to (b) (i) for the interest foregone on overpayments, the information is not available.

For answer to (b) (ii) for the level of overpayments written off, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 18 April 2006 (63043).

For answer to (A) for the most recent estimate of the cost of the administration of the tax credit system, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 723W.

For answer to (B) for the most recent estimate of the cost of the administration of overpayments, the information is not available.

World Bank

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his proposal for a $20 billion target at the World Bank for investment into alternative sources of energy, energy efficiency and adaptation to climate change in developing countries; and what sources of finance he proposes to make available from the UK. [63218]

John Healey: Climate change and access to energy are global problems that need a global response. Maximising energy efficiency (in both the production

19 Apr 2006 : Column 696W

and use of energy) and diversification of energy sources and technologies has both environmental and developmental benefits. Both of these are crucial for developing countries, which are more vulnerable to rising oil prices and the adverse impacts of climate change.

There is an estimated annual $60 billion shortfall in energy investment in developing countries. This is why at Gleneagles the G8 asked the World Bank and other Multilateral Development Banks to develop a framework to increase investment in cleaner and more efficient energy in developing countries and to address the need for more investment to support adaptation to climate change. The World Bank has made good progress on this work and will present proposals for its component of the framework to the Development Committee at the spring meetings in Washington D.C. this month. The Government believes this framework presents a good opportunity to leverage more public and private investment in clean energy and encourage more effective use of existing financing instruments.

At the spring meetings the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for International Development will propose an initial annual target of $20 billion for the investment framework. We expect this to include public and private sector investment, non-concessional lending from the Multilateral Development Banks, and grant and concessional financing from relevant mechanisms. Concessional financing from donors, including the UK, will play an important role in the framework. We expect the World Bank to set out financing required from all sources in order to leverage $20 billion in total investment.

World Cup (Complimentary Tickets)

Mr. Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complimentary tickets his Department has received for games taking place at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. [63900]

John Healey: None.

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