Written Ministerial Statements
Monday 14 May 2007
Treasury
Cash Ratio Deposits
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Stephen Timms): Cash Ratio Deposits (CRDs) are non-interest bearing assets deposited with the Bank of England by banks and building societies. They are used by the bank to finance its unremunerated activities, in particular its efforts to secure price stability and the stability of the financial system in general, from which these institutions are key beneficiaries.
The CRD scheme was extended to include building societies, and was placed on a statutory basis, when the Bank of England Act became law in 1998. The scheme was reviewed in 2003, when the threshold above which institutions are obliged to place deposits with the Bank of England was amended following a public consultation. The Government also committed to reviewing the scheme again within five years. The Treasury, working closely with the bank, will now begin that review.
The review will include an assessment of the detailed arrangements of the scheme as well as the continuing suitability of the scheme itself compared to alternative sources of funding. It will also address the impact of the scheme on the eligible institutions. The broad conclusions of the review will be the subject of a public consultation.
International Development
Temporary International Mechanism (Palestine)
The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn): I wish to inform the House that the UK intends to make a further contribution of £3 million to the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) for Palestinian basic needs. This will provide support for Palestinian Government workers and will bring the UK’s total bilateral contribution through the TIM to £15 million.
The situation for Palestinians remains very difficult. International donors, including the UK, created the TIM to provide continuing assistance. In 2006, the EU gave £123 million through the TIM—almost three times the amount we gave in support of the Palestinian Authority’s budget in 2005. However, this has not been sufficient to offset the hardship caused by conflict, restrictions on movement and access, and Israel’s decision to withhold Palestinian customs revenues.
The TIM has helped to avert a humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories. It is directly supporting the livelihoods of an estimated 900,000 Palestinians. It has provided fuel to sustain health, water and power services for 1.4 million people in Gaza. This recently included fuel for heavy equipment preventing a further
collapse of the embankment of the sewage lake of Um Nasir. By the end of April the TIM had disbursed €209 million, a substantial contribution to the Palestinian economy.
However, I hope that the TIM will indeed only be temporary. Giving aid outside the Palestinian Government does not help to build its capacity to govern. That is why the UK welcomed the formation of the National Unity Government and continues to encourage all members of the NUG to commit to the three Quartet principles. This is asking no more of this Palestinian Government than we have of previous ones. In line with our policy, the UK Government will meet those members committed to the three Quartet principles, like the Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, whom I recently had discussions with in Washington. I fully support Dr. Fayyad’s work to re-instate sound management of the Palestinian Authority’s finances. Our aim, and that of the EU, is the rapid resumption of direct budgetary assistance to the Palestinian Authority once the Quartet principles have been met and appropriate fiduciary controls are in place. Until then, this latest contribution of £3 million will act as an essential lifeline by helping to keep services running, showing our continuing commitment to the Palestinian people, and bolstering the Palestinian economy.
Justice
Public Guardianship Office
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice): My right hon. and noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, has today made the following written ministerial statement.
“The following list sets out the key performance targets that have been set for the Public Guardianship Office (PGO) for April to September 2007 prior to the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
The implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 brings the replacement of the Public Guardianship Office with the Office of the Public Guardian and its head, the Public Guardian.
The Mental Capacity Act comes into force on 1 October 2007. The Public Guardianship Office will continue to operate until its replacement by the Office of the Public Guardian and the following key performance targets have been set for the office until that time.
KPI-1: To increase the satisfaction of its customers in the delivery of its services as measured by customer surveys throughout the year.
a) To achieve an overall customer satisfaction rating of 75 per cent.
b) To reduce dissatisfaction amongst each of our different customer groups (lay, local authority and professional receivers, and EPA attorneys) by 10 per cent.
KPI-2: To maintain the proportion of effective visits by the Lord Chancellor’s Visitors.
During the course of April to September 2007 the primary focus for the visiting service will be on preparation for the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act and developing a
new visiting process that will work effectively post enactment. During this period of transition the PGO will visit at least 4,000 clients. A ‘visit’ takes place when a visitor travels to and meets a PGO client in their home or abode. In this instance it does not constitute the receipt of a visit report by the PGO.
Eighty per cent. of the 4,000 visits will be effective. An effective visit is one where:
(i) the visit is carried out within six months of the request being made; and
(ii) recommended action is initiated within one calendar month of the visit.
KPI-3: To maintain an effective system to collect and review accounts.
a) To collect 60 per cent. of accounts, in all cases where an account is properly due, within two calendar months of the accounting end date; 85 per cent. within four calendar months of the accounting end date; and 95 per cent. within six calendar months of the accounting end date.
b) To review a sample of no less than 10 per cent. of accounts. One hundred per cent. of these will be reviewed within 20 working days.
KPI-4: To maintain our service to clients.
a) Respond to:
(iv) 60 per cent. of correspondence within five working days of receipt;
(v) 80 per cent. of correspondence within 10 working days of receipt; and
(vi) 98 per cent. of correspondence within 15 working days of receipt.
b) To work with receivers to ensure they have access to funds to support the client for a year at a time. Where requests for release of funds are made over and above this the PGO will give directions to the Court Funds Office, or dispatch directions to the receiver (i) within five working days in 80 per cent. of cases and (ii) within 10 working days in 95 per cent. of cases; or explain why it cannot release funds.
c) Providing it has all the appropriate forms and information required in support of an application, the PGO will list a case for hearing and notify the applicant within 10 working days in 95 per cent. of cases.
d) The hearing date will be within 35 working days of the date the hearing was listed in 95 per cent. of cases.
e) After the hearing, the PGO will notify applicants of the outcome of the hearing and request any further information the court requires within five working days in 95 per cent. of cases.
f) The PGO will issue orders within 10 working days in 95 per cent. of cases where all information and documents have been received.
g) The PGO will register and return 98 per cent. of correctly lodged EPAs, where there are no objections, within five working days of the end of the statutory waiting period—35 days from the latest date on which notices of intention to register the EPA were sent or given.
h) The PGO will ensure that in at least 98 per cent. of cases, orders will not be returned because of errors.
KPI-5: To demonstrate improvements in efficiency in value for money terms we aim tomeet unit cost targets for undertaking each case in each of our main business streams as follows:
Enduring Powers of Attorney—£120 per case
Appointing and supervising Receivers—£575 per case
The PGO is required to recover the full cost of its services. This excludes the cost of remissions as the court of protection has the discretion to waive a fee if the client or their dependants would experience hardship by paying. For the 2007 period the PGO is seeking to recover costs as follows:
Enduring Powers of Attorney—100 per cent. of costs recovered
Appointing and supervising Receivers—82 per cent. of costs recovered.
KPI-6: The transition of PGO receivership cases in advance of the implementation of the MCA.
To review no fewer than 12,000 lay receiver cases by 30 September 2007.”
Copies of the of the Public Guardianship Business Plan for April to September 2007 are available on the internet at: http://www.guardianship.gov.uk/forms documents/publications.htm.
Copies are also are available in the Libraries of both Houses.
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