HM Treasury

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Board

The HM Treasury board is made up of the permanent secretary, the second permanent secretaries, the directors general, and the directors of finance, strategy and corporate services, as well as non-executive members.ref

Treasury Group Audit Committee

The Treasury Group Audit Committee supports the Permanent Secretary in his role as head of the department and as the Principal Accounting Officer. It also supports the Treasury Additional Accounting Officers in their responsibilities for managing risk, internal control and governance, related to the Central Funds and the Group’s Resource Account.ref

Ministers

Management

ToDo: link

Council of Economic Advisers

Can't find any info on this anywhere. Does is still exist as of Apr.2018?

Executive Agencies

Government Internal Audit Agency

Debt Management Office

The DMO is an executive agency, responsible for day-to-day management of the Govt's debt. Its remit is to carry out the Govt's debt management policy of minimising financing costs over the long term, taking account of risk, and to minimise the cost of offsetting the Government's net cash flows over time, while operating in a risk appetite approved by Ministers in both cases.

Reponsibilities:

Gilt Market
Money Markets
Public Sector Funds

The statutory functions of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt are carried out within the Debt Management Office. CRND's main function is the investment and management of govt funds. The CRND also invests funds held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund, until such time as they are required by the Lottery Distributing Bodies to make payments to successful grant applicants, or to meet administrative expenses. Commissioners for the Reduction of the National DebtWikipedia-W.svg

Public Works Loan Board

PWLB's function is to lend money from the National Loans Fund to local authorities, and to collect the repayments. The members of the PWLB are known as Public Works Loan Commissioners. See also National Loans FundWikipedia-W.svg.

  • Oct.30.2018: Suspend repayments on ‘illegitimate’ loans to councils, report urges. Workers’ co-op Research for Action calls for suspension of repayments on ‘mis-sold’ loans worth £15bn. Many councils took out a loan known as a lobo, or lender option borrower option, in the early 2000s. At the time the councils thought that these loans would be cheaper than govt loans from the Public Works Loan Board. However, in the long-term the loans proved cripplingly expensive at a time of austerity, with cuts in central govt funding having forced closure of many essential services. These loans gave banks the power to impose new rates at certain points. Borrowers could reject the new terms, but they would then be forced to repay the entire loan straight away. Lobo loans are controversial partly because the interest rate paid by councils changed at the bank’s discretion and often depended on Libor, which both Barclays and RBS were fined for rigging. A parliamentary inquiry into these loans to councils took place in 2015. Diane Taylor, The Guardian.

Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Office for Budget Responsibility

The Office for Budget Responsibility was formed in 2010 to produce independent analysis of the UK's economic conditions. It produces detailed 5-year forecasts for the economy and public finances twice a year, in the autumn and the spring.

  • Mar.08.2018: Surprise windfall worth up to £11bn can put a spring in chancellor's step. A report by the Resolution Foundation, the centre-left think tank, claims that a raft of relatively upbeat economic data released since gloomy[Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts in Nov.2017 is likely to trigger a significant upward revision of expectations for the economy. Resolution believes that should translate into a public finance boost worth between £7 - £11 bn. Additionally, while the deficit has improved to pre-crisis levels, UK national debt has doubled in size since the late 2000s and remains at levels not seen since the 1960s. Robin Pagnamenta, The Times.
  • Aug.24.2010: Back to business as usual. Looking at the Tories' so-called Office for Budget Responsibility and its role in the coalition's cuts agenda. Back in 1944, the Polish socialist economist Michal Kalecki famously predicted that as public spending became more and more important, governments would be tempted to engineer a boom towards the end of their term of office in order to get re-elected. Once back in power, they would then slam on the brakes and restore the fiscal balance, only to start spending again as the next election loomed. He called this ‘the political trade cycle’. George Osborne, Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling Hugo Radice, Red Pepper.

Other Bodies

Financial Conduct Authority

See main article: Financial Conduct Authority
Money Advice Service

The Money Advice Service provides free and impartial advice on money and financial decisions. Its was established to enhance people's understanding and knowledge of financial matters, and to enhance their ability to manage their own financial affairs. The service provides free money advice and guidance online and by telephone.

See main article: Money Advice Service
Complaints Commissioner

Infrastructure and Projects Authority

See main article: Infrastructure and Projects Authority

National Infrastructure Commission

  • Agu.22.2018: This disastrous new project will change the face of Britain, yet no debate is allowed. Decisions about the Oxford-Cambridge expressway, and the vast conurbation it will create, are made behind closed doors. A striking example is the government’s plan for an Oxford-to-Cambridge expressway. A decision to which we have not been party, which will irrevocably change the region it affects, is imminent. The new road, says the plan, will support the construction of a million homes. To give you some sense of the scale of this scheme, consider that Oxfordshire will have to provide 300,000 of them. It currently contains 280,000 homes. A million new homes amounts, in effect, to an Oxford-Cambridge conurbation. But none of this is up for debate. The justification for this scheme is not transport or housing as an end in itself. Its objective, according to the National Infrastructure Commission, is to enable the region “to maximise its economic potential”. ... But these questions are not just closed to debate. They are not even recognised as questions. Instead of asking “Do we need this scheme?”, the govt agency Highways England, which is supposed to offer objective advice, opens its webpage with the heading “Why we need this scheme”. The National Infrastructure Commission, which also advises the government, ignores some issues altogether, such as how water for another million homes will be provided in a region where demand already exceeds supply. A recent study by the Campaign to Protect Rural England shows that, far from relieving congestion, new road schemes create new traffic. ... Growth must continue, until it destroys everything it claims to enhance. To this end, on Jul.26 the housing minister Kit Malthouse wrote to local authorities in the region, insisting that they submit proposals for building the million homes by Sept.14 - 7 weeks! The government says it will announce which of three possible corridors for the expressway it will choose by the end of this summer. By imposing this decision, the govt ignores its legal obligations. It has failed to conduct a strategic environmental assessment before the corridor decision is made, as the law insists. This is not democracy. This is not even a semblance of democracy. George Monbiot, The Guardian.

UK Government Investments Ltd

UKGI is a govt-owned company which combines the former functions of the Shareholder Executive and UK Financial Investments. It manages a portfolio of 27 businesses including majority-owned banks[1], Channel 4 and Ordnance Survey. Robert Swannell is the chairman and Mark Russell is the chief executive.
One of UKGI's responsibilities is oversight of the NDA’s governance and performance, and is responsible for liaising with the NDA on all aspects of its work. UKGI reports directly to senior officials in the Treasury, and advises ministers on the NDA’s performance and governance. The Secretary of State for BEIS Is accountable to Parliament for the activities and performance of the NDA.[1]

UK Asset Resolution Ltd

UKAR is the holdco established in Oct.2010 to bring together the govt-owned businesses of Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock (Asset Management). #UK Government Investments Ltd manages HM Treasury’s 100% shareholding in UKAR. See UKAR's summary here > Our Brand and also here. See here re the NRAM story. See Companies House a/cs re NRAM Ltd.

  • Sept.182018: Goldman Sachs offshoot Rothesay Life buys £860m ‘bad bank’ loans. UK Asset Resolution has disposed of a portfolio of equity release loans to Rothesay Life, the pension buyout business founded by Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs. The sale of ~6,200 former Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley mortgages continues the disposal of the bank’s assets that were taken on by the govt after their nationalisation nearly a decade ago. more: some bg info + history re UKAR. Harry Wilson, The Times.

In Nov.2015, UKAR announced the sale of £13bn of mortgages and loans from the legacy book of NRAM plc to USA private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP - the largest asset sale by a European govt. Loans not included in the sale transferred to a newly-established subsidiary of UKAR – NRAM (No1) Ltd – and, as part of the completion process, NRAM plc was then sold to Cerberus Capital. On Jul.18 NRAM (No.1) was renamed as NRAM Ltd. ref
In 2016, UKAR outsourced mortgage servicing operations to Computershare. ref

UKAR Corporate Services Ltd
UKAR Corporate Services Ltd, a subsidiary of UKAR, became responsible in Oct.2013 for the administration of the govt's Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and, in 2015, Help to Buy ISA on behalf of HM Treasury. ref, CH
UK Financial Investments Ltd
UKFI ceased trading on Mar.31.2018. All of its activities were transferred to its parent company, UKGI, which has assumed responsibility for continuing UKFI's mandate. UKFI managed the govt's investments in the Royal Bank of Scotland and #UK Asset Resolution Ltd. ref, Sept.03.2018 CH

Other Other Bodies

Not sure what to entitle this yet.

Local Partnerships LLP

Bank of England

FixMe: Not mentioned in the list of agencies and public bodies here - nevertheless, HM Treasury owns the BoE on behalf of the Govt.

See main article: Bank of England

Office of Tax Simplification

The Office of Tax Simplification is an independent office of HM Treasury. It gives advice to the govt on simplifying the tax system, byt providing advice on where there are areas of complexity in the tax system that could be simplified; and by conducting inquiries into complex areas of the tax system, to collect evidence and advise the government on options for reform.

Economic Crime Strategic Board

  • Jan.14.2019: Javid and Hammond team up to tackle £14bn of economic crimes. New UK taskforce will crack down on money laundering, corruption, fraud and bribery. Sajid Javid and Philip Hammond will chair a new taskforce that will work with senior figures in the financial sector to tackle economic crime. This is a broad category covering a range of illegal activity, with the Home Office estimating its scale to be at least £14.4bn a year. The new taskforce will set priorities, direct resources and scrutinise performance in dealing with economic crime. Its members also include bank chiefs, other government ministers, law enforcement figures and representatives from the legal, accountancy and property sectors. Press Association, The Guardian.

See also DDG, Gov.uk

Committees and Forums

Oil and Gas Industry Direct Tax Forum

The forum is made up of oil and gas industry representatives and advisers from the UK Oil Industry Taxation Committee (UKOITC), Oil & Gas UK (OGUK), the Oil Taxation Action Committee (OTAC), the Association of British Independent Oil Exploration Companies (BRINDEX), and the Oil and Gas Independents' Association (OGIA) and senior personnel from HMRC (including the large business oil & gas sector lead, head of oil policy and other key personnel) and representatives from HM Treasury (North Seas Branch, corporate tax team).

Articles

  • Feb.12.2019: MPs and peers press Treasury to abandon 'absurd' inflation measure. Ministers urged to ditch RPI, which it is claimed penalises students and rail passengers. Nicky Morgan, chairwoman of the Treasury committee, said: “It appears grossly unfair that government formulae affecting people’s incomes, such as pensions and benefits, often use CPI (consumer prices index), whereas formulae affecting outgoings, including student loans, often use RPI, which typically gives a higher rate of inflation. The Office for National Statistics has officially accepted RPI is a “very poor measure of general inflation”, yet the govt continues to use it to set the interest rate on student loans and as the basis for raising rail fares every year. Lord Forsyth, head of the economic affairs committee, warned the UKSA could be in breach of its statutory duties unless it fixed RPI. The govt is cherry-picking the measure that suits their purpose. Patrick Collinson, The Guardian.
  • Jan.13.2019: Is it time to trim the UK Treasury? Harold Wilson was right: we need a separate department for the economy to boost growth. It is a super-ministry, combining functions separated in many other countries: management of the economy and control of the public finances. These two functions are not accorded equal weight and never have been. The Treasury has always been primarily a finance ministry that views its main task as ensuring the nation’s budget arithmetic adds up. more... Larry Elliott, The Guardian.
  • Dec.14.2016: Inside the murky world of binary options trading: 80% losses guaranteed! Sold as a quick and simple investment opportunity promising average returns of up to 90%, thousands of Brits are pouring money into binary options trading, which involves betting on whether the price of certain commodities will rise or fall over a specific time period. But more than 75% of those who sign up lose all their money - and as little as 3% of people make any profit at all. The police warn malpractice is rife, and that unregulated binary options trading has become the biggest fraud in the UK. Countries around the world are enacting regulation clamping down - while the British govt continues to sit on its hands. In Spring 2015, the Treasury held a consultation on bringing binary options (currently regulated by the Gambling Commission) under the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, it refuses to publish either the responses or the results of the consultation, saying to disclose such information was "likely to have a negative impact on the commercial interests of particular companies". Jonathan Reynolds called for the govt to take action. "It appears to be something they have forgotten about, whereas other countries have acted swiftly to protect savers". On Dec.06.2016, the govt announced another consultation would be held on enhancing business conduct rules for firms selling 'contract for difference products' - a type of derivatives which includes binary options. This consultation closed on Mar.07.2017. On Mar.21.2018, a FCA site search returned no response to the consultation. Helen Goodman and John Mann said "The current system clearly does not work to protect citizens." Melanie Newman, TBIJ.

Timelines

  • Office of Government CommerceWikipedia-W.svg was a govt office established as part of HM Treasury in 2000. It was moved into the Efficiency and Reform Group of the Cabinet Office in 2010, before being closed in 2011.

References

  1. ^ The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s Magnox contract. Comptroller and Auditor General, p.30, National Audit Office, Sept.29.2017.