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26 Nov 2008 : Column 1907W—continued
Buying.Solutions organises and chairs the Zanzibar User Group. All customers are invited to this forum with the aim of learning from others experiences, discussing
best practice and sharing a common approach to areas such as supplier adoption which benefits the customer base as a whole.
Buying.Solutions provides marketing support for the Zanzibar programme by providing customer questions and answers and case studies on a dedicated web page as part of its corporate website. The eCommerce team provides Zanzibar related content for its Public Sector Procurement magazine which is sent to 27,000 subscribers every quarter. In the current year four Zanzibar related articles have been included in the magazine.
The eCommerce team supports individual customers by participating in their project/programme boards and supports customers at an operational level with regular meetings. The eCommerce team works with customers to ensure that the most strategically important suppliers join the programme and enables the loading of their content to the marketplace.
Pensions: Police
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional funding the Government will make available to the Scottish Executive to meet the cost of pension changes for police and fire and rescue services in Scotland as a result of the recent Ministerial decision. [227818]
Yvette Cooper: The Scottish Executive has chosen to manage the costs of the pension payments for police and Fire Fighter pensions within its departmental limits (DEL). In England, following changes in 2005, they came under annually managed expenditure (AME). In these circumstances it is clearly for the Scottish Executive to manage these costs within existing resources. HM Treasury stands ready to assist the Scottish Executive to introduce reformed arrangements as soon as possible, should they choose to proceed along these lines.
Pensions: Public Sector
Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent estimate he has made of the unfunded public sector pensions liability; what the liability was in each year since 1980; on what assumptions his estimates are based; and if he will make a statement; [200831]
(2) when the next estimate of the public sector unfunded pension liability will be available; and if he will make a statement. [200830]
Yvette Cooper: As shown on page 38 of the Long Term Public Finance Report published on 12 March 2008, the total unfunded public service liabilities are estimated to be £650 billion at 31 March 2006. The three previous comparable estimates of this total were £530 billion at 31 March 2005, £460 billion at 31 March 2004 and £425 billion at 31 March 2003.
These are notional figures representing all future payments due to individuals who work, have worked, or are dependants of individuals who worked in the public service. The variation in these estimates is primarily due to changes in actuarial assumptions, which are set in line with international standards. As the March 2008
Long Term Public Finance Report showed, expenditure on public service pensions over the next 50 years, remains at a sustainable level between 1.5 and 2 per cent. of GDP.
The estimates for years prior to 2003 were not made on a comparable basis.
The actuarial assumptions used to value the liabilities of individual schemes are set out in the relevant reports by the scheme actuary and have been reported in scheme resource accounts.
An updated estimate will be published in due course.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of revenues to the public purse from public sector pension employee contributions in the latest year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [200832]
Yvette Cooper: Rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion, employee contributions to unfunded public service pension schemes are estimated to have been around £5.1 billion and employee contributions to the funded Local Government Pension Schemes are estimated to have been around £2.0 billion in the financial year 2006-07.
The Government do not hold aggregate estimates of employee contributions in the wider pubic sector.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent estimate he has made of the savings likely to be achieved in each year from April 2006 as a result of the Government's reforms to public sector pensions; [224256]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the savings likely to be achieved as a result of the Government's reforms to public sector pensions in each year from April 2006. [233155]
Yvette Cooper: The Government are committed to providing good quality public service pension schemes that are affordable and sustainable in the long-term. To achieve this, we have undertaken a programme of reforms that have included mechanisms such as cost sharing and capping, as well as measures such as increases in pension age. The savings resulting from such measures will appear in future pension valuations.
The packages of reforms vary considerably between schemes, as will the effects on employer pension contributions and payments of pension benefits, and the values placed on such effects will depend on the time frames over which they are measured. Detailed questions about the financial effects are for the Departments responsible for the schemes.
However, figures that Departments have already published indicate that employer costs should already be around one and a quarter to one and a half billion pounds a year lower than they would otherwise have been and the long-term annual savings should be substantially more than this.
Plain English
Philip Davies:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many documents produced by his Department were submitted to the Plain English
Campaign for approval for Crystal Mark status in each year since 2005; and how many documents achieved such status in each year. [231110]
Angela Eagle: I very much regret not being in a position to answer the hon. Member’s question before prorogation. I will write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Pool Reinsurance scheme
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government have received in premiums from the Pool Reinsurance scheme in each year since the scheme's inception. [234049]
Ian Pearson: The arrangements under which premium is paid to Government under the Pool Reinsurance scheme are such that Government are not normally entitled to premium payments unless the surplus in Pool Reinsurance Company Limited exceeds £1 billion. As a result, no premium was received by Government in respect of years 1993 to 1997 and a "catch up" premium was due in respect of 1998. Premium, and interest where relevant, received to date by Government in respect of each year of Pool Re's operation have been:
| £ million | |
Premium is normally paid in arrears, using a three year accounting convention, with interest payable to compensate Government for this delay in payment. As a result, premiums are not yet due in respect of 2006, 2007 or 2008.
Private Finance Initiative
David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are in place to monitor the (a) financial inability and (b) ownership of private companies involved in financing public sector projects through the private finance initiative. [236345]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 17 November 2008]: As the Memorandum of Understanding between HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA sets out, the three authorities meet at a number of levels on a very regular basis to exchange information on issues relating to financial stability which monitor the health of the market as a whole.
With specific reference to PFI, a list of equity holders is available from the Treasury website at
For each PFI project, this list details the project name, the main equity holders, and the procuring authority.
Public Expenditure
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what year-on-year change there has been in total Government expenditure in each year since 1997. [239558]
Mr. Timms: Expenditure data prior to 2007-08 are in table B1 of the Public Sector Finances Databank. Figures for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are in table B16 of the 2008 pre-Budget Report.
Public Sector: Pensions
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which pension schemes were covered by the Government Actuary’s Department’s estimate of unfunded public service occupational pension scheme liabilities as at 31 March 2006, set out on page 38 of the 2008 Long Term Public Finance Report. [233136]
Yvette Cooper: The liability estimate covers all unfunded public service occupational pension schemes in the UK. These are defined as pension schemes established by statute or by Ministers exercising statutory powers. The main schemes covered are those for the NHS, teachers, civil service, armed forces, police, firefighters, judiciary and the Atomic Energy Authority.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate on a GAAP basis the aggregate change in liability in respect of the public sector pension schemes not included in table D1 of Public Expenditure: Statistical Analyses in years for which information is available. [233152]
Yvette Cooper: Table D1 of Public Expenditure: Statistical Analyses shows the aggregate change in liability for the main central Government unfunded public service pension schemes. Figures for other public sector pension schemes are reported in the accounts of employers participating in those pension schemes. Aggregate figures are not available centrally and could not be provided without disproportionate cost.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the aggregate value of contributions received from members of the public sector pension schemes not included in table D1 of Public Expenditure: Statistical Analyses for each year for which information is available since 2007. [233153]
Yvette Cooper: Employee contributions to unfunded public service pension schemes not included in table D1 of Public Expenditure: Statistical Analyses are estimated to have been around £0.7 billion and employee contributions to the funded Local Government Pension Schemes are estimated to have been around £2.0 billion in the financial year 2006-07.
The Government do not hold aggregate estimates of employee contributions in the wider public sector.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will prepare and publish an updated version of his Department’s March 2006 paper Total liability of Unfunded Public Service Occupational Pension Schemes as at 31 March 2005. [233154]
Yvette Cooper: Information relating to the total unfunded public service pensions liability will be published in due course.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which bonds of which durations are considered by the Government Actuary when recommending the discount rates to be used in calculating public sector pension liabilities; and at what dates these are measured. [233156]
Yvette Cooper: The main unfunded public service pension schemes prepare their accounts in accordance with the Government Financial Reporting Manual. HM Treasury advises the appropriate discount rate for measuring the pension liabilities of these schemes, based on advice from the Government Actuary’s Department. The discount rate used to measure the pension liabilities as at 31 March 2008 is 2.5 per cent. per annum in excess of price inflation (as measured by the Retail Price Index).
The discount rate in excess of price inflation is based on the rate of return on AA-rated corporate bonds, less the market expectation of future inflation.
The rate of return on AA-rated corporate bonds is based on the redemption yield on an index of AA-rated corporate bonds denominated in pounds sterling with 15 years or more to run to maturity.
The market expectation of future inflation is based on the difference between the redemption yield on index-linked Government securities and the redemption yield on fixed-interest Government securities.
The yields were measured as at close of business on 31 January 2008.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assumptions about trends in mortality growth are used to calculate the estimate of public service occupational pension liabilities published in the Long Term Public Finance Report; [233157]
(2) what assumptions about future salary growth are used to calculate the estimate of public service occupational pension liabilities published in the Long Term Public Finance Report. [233158]
Yvette Cooper: As page 38 of the Long Term Public Finance Report published on 12 March 2008 explains, the key actuarial assumptions used to value the liabilities of individual schemes are set out in the relevant reports by the scheme actuary as reported in individual scheme resource accounts.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government Actuary's Department plans to update its January 2007 paper Unfunded Public Service Pension Schemes 2006 Cashflow Projections: Methodology, Assumptions and Data. [233239]
Yvette Cooper: The Government Actuary’s Department will publish a paper, ‘Unfunded public service pension scheme 2007-08 cashflow projections methodology, assumptions and data, in due course.
Redundancy
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many staff in his Department left under (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 2005-06; how many of them in each case were paid (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000 in the year before they left; and how much (A) was spent in each of those years and (B) is planned to be spent on such schemes in (1) 2008-09 and (2) 2009-10 by (Y) his Department and (Z) each of his Department's agencies; [237343]
(2) how many of his Department's staff who left under (a) an involuntary and (b) a voluntary exit scheme in each year since 2005-06 received a severance package of (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000; and if he will make a statement. [239164]
Angela Eagle: It has not proved possible to answer the hon. Member’s question before Parliament is prorogued later today.
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