The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Category: Chancellor (1989-1990)

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Valuation Services – 15 December 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Valuation Services on 15th December 1989.

    Mr. Dykes To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have for valuation services; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major In the light of studies carried out by an interdepartmental group of officials, the Government have taken the following decisions affecting the Government’s valuation services and the management of Government property.

    First, a project team under Treasury leadership will investigate how best to set up consistent and compatible databases for each of the Government’s main property estates, to be used both for purposes of capital asset management and for assessment of Government contributions in lieu of rates. The team will begin work shortly.

    Secondly, Departments will by April 1991 be “untied” for valuation work which does not need to be undertaken in-house. Such work will be considered for market testing and contracting-out. Valuations for the purposes of assessing liability to business rates and other taxes will continue to be done in-house.

    Thirdly, in general valuation services provided by Government valuers, whether to Government Departments or to other bodies, should be charged for. The aim is to introduce charging from April 1991.

    Finally, the deployment of Government valuers will continue broadly as now, except that the Inland Revenue will take over from April 1991 responsibilities for valuation of the Government’s estates for rating purposes from the Treasury’s rating of Government property department, which will cease to exist from that date. Consideration will be given to establishing parts of the Government’s valuation services as executive agencies.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Civil List – 7 December 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Civil List on 7th December 1989.

    Mr. Vaz To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount payable under the Civil Lists Acts to the royal family for each year since 1979 and for the present year.

    Mr. Major Following is the information:

    Payments for the Civil List under the Civil List Acts 1937, 1952. 1972 and 1975 | Repaid by Her Majesty The Queen

    Year | £ | £
    1979 2,996,600 218,200
    1980 3,791,350 263,800
    1981 4,249,273 285,073

  • Mr Major’s British Chambers of Commerce Speech – 5 December 1989

    Below is the text of a press release from HM Treasury on 5th December 1989, following Mr Major’s speech at the annual lunch of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce.

    CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER:

    Difficult Year, Promising Decade Press Release

    The Chancellor, John Major, speaking today at the inaugural annual lunch of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce expressed his hope for a cordial and productive relationship with the Association. He went on;

    “You are an important representative voice for business in Britain today, and I can assure you that the Government will pay a great deal of attention to your views”

    The main priority is to get on top of inflation. That requires tight monetary and fiscal policies which would inevitably have an impact on business. But it was reassuring that investment was holding up well and the regional pattern of the slowdown was most pronounced in those areas where excess demand had been most evident.

    “I do not myself believe that a recession is likely or necessary; although in the complex international economy of today no one can ever be certain of that. What gives me confidence about the long term is the underlying health and strength of British business. That is considerable”.

    He noted particular cultural changes that are likely to be long-lasting.

    “Greater worker involvement in industry has also contributed to a real erosion of the ‘them and us’ divide which for so long bedevilled British industry. The truth is, there has been a culture change. It was long overdue, and it is happening – to some extent is has happened”.

    “And the signs are that this culture is becoming entrenched. As young people see that starting their own business really is an option, more and more of them envisage doing so themselves in the future”.

    Looking to the future, the Chancellor stressed that;

    “Next year will be difficult, but the next decade is full of promise”.

    “I hope British industry will gather the confidence to regain the markets we have lost and to attack the markets we have not yet conquered.”

    “… the underlying state of British industry is one of rude health. It is productive and well equipped; and it faces unparalleled new business opportunities. In the last few years, British industry has demonstrated a greatly improved supply response to rising living standards and rising demand at home. Now is the time to go out and look for business elsewhere, to maintain profits and output and jobs. It is not a time for passive gloom. It is a time for active marketing – and I wish you well.”

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Charities – 30 November 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Charities on 30th November 1989.

    Mr. Ashley To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions since 1959 Governments have borrowed money from a charitable trust.

    Mr. Major I regret that this information is not available. When the Government borrow they do so mainly through the issue of securities, which may be bought by charitable trusts, either directly or in the market. The extent of such purchases is not known.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Private Medical Insurance – 30 November 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Private Medical Insurance on 30th November 1989.

    Mr. Denzil Davies To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much private medical insurance tax relief will cost in a full year.

    Mr. Major About £40 million in 1990–91.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Jacques Delors – 30 November 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Jacques Delors on 30th November 1989.

    Mr. Rogers To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last had discussions with Mr. Jacques Delors.

    Mr. Major I last met Mr. Delors on 13 November.

  • Mr Major’s Parliamentary Answer on the Social Charter – 30 November 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s response on the Social Charter held on 30th November 1989 in the House of Commons.

    Mr. Andy Stewart To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his assessment of the effect on the United Kingdom’s long-term economic performance of the proposed European social charter.

    Mr. Gale To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his assessment of the effect on the United Kingdom’s long-term economic performance of the proposed European social charter.

    Mr. Major Implementation of the proposed social charter in its present form would have a harmful effect on economic performance. It would raise costs and cost jobs.

    Mr. Stewart Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is ludicrous for the EEC to try to introduce laws to govern a wide variety of our small business sector?

    Mr. Major I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. I suggest to our colleagues in Europe that the principle of subsidiarity would serve us much better than the proposed social charter.

    Mr. Gale Further to that answer, what would be the effect on the United Kingdom’s economy of a 35-hour working week?

    Mr. Major I scarcely think that an immediate 35-hour week would be helpful for the economy.

  • Mr Major’s Parliamentary Answer on EC Meetings – 30 November 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s response on EC Meetings held on 30th November 1989 in the House of Commons.

    Mr. Adley To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next intends to meet his European Economic Community counterparts; and what he expects to discuss.

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. John Major) The next meeting of the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers will be held in Brussels on 18 December 1989. Its agenda has not yet been determined.

    Mr. Adley Is my right hon. Friend aware that everyone in the House will wish to congratulate him on this, his first appearance at the Dispatch Box at Question Time? All Conservative Members wish him 100 per cent. success in what he sets out to achieve.

    Will my right hon. Friend confirm that within the Finance Ministries of the EEC countries different criteria are used to assess rail investment proposals in their state railway systems? Is he aware that our Treasury demands a higher rate of return yet pays lower regard to environmental and congestion factors than any other Finance Ministry in Europe? Is he aware, for example, that France spends twice as much as us on its railways and West Germany three times as much? Will he therefore, in concert with his colleagues, prepare a report so that we can factually assess railway investment decisions?

    Mr. Major I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s opening remarks. Our rail investment programme is large, as he knows. The required rate of return is 8 per cent. in the United Kingdom, and it certainly varies in different parts of Europe, but the precise details of EEC countries’ rates of requirement are unknown to me. I should need to check them and write to my hon. Friend.

    Mr. Allen The Chancellor will be aware that Members on all sides of the House, and the public, are concerned about war widows’ pensions. When he meets his counterparts in Europe, will he take time to discuss with them their arrangements for war widows’ pensions? Without committing himself today, will he listen to them with an open mind and bring before this House proposals for fair pensions for all war widows?

    Mr. Major I admire the hon. Gentleman’s ingenuity in raising that important matter on this question. I discuss a large number of matters with my Finance Minister colleagues in Europe, but the issue to which he referred is more a matter for discussion within the Government.

    Mr. Tim Smith Is my right hon. Friend aware that the CBI favours early membership of the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system because it believes that that will lead to more stable exchange rates and lower interest rates? Does my right hon. Friend share my hope that the two conditions that the Government have laid down – lower inflation and the abolition of exchange controls within the Community – will have been met in a year’s time?

    Mr. Major Quite apart from the two conditions that my hon. Friend mentioned, other important matters need to be determined before we think it right for sterling to enter the exchange rate mechanism. I certainly hope to see lower inflation in this country and throughout Europe in a year’s time.

    Mrs. Beckett When the Chancellor next meets his counterparts in Europe I suppose that he may discuss with them what his exchange rate policy is. Will he therefore tell the House what it is today?

    Mr. Major First, I welcome the hon. Lady to her first Question Time in her new position.

    I shall continue to take account of the exchange rate, along with other monetary indicators, when setting interest rates. That has been and remains our policy.

  • Mr Major’s Commons Response to Exchange Rate Mechanism Questions – 30 November 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s Commons Response to Exchange Rate Mechanism Questions on 30th November 1989.

    CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER:

    Mr. Geraint Howells To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made as regards the conditions that must be met before the United Kingdom enters the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr. Major I refer the hon. Gentleman to my speech to the House on 2 November.

    Mr. Howells Does the Chancellor agree that British farmers have no opportunity to compete on equal terms with their European counterparts because we are not full members of the European monetary system? What plans has he to help small farmers to overcome the problem of the high interest rates that now prevail?

    Mr. Major Small farmers face the same difficulties with interest rates as other business men. I entirely understand the hon. Gentleman’s point, but I am bound to say that I think that the principal competitive problem that affects small farmers is caused by the unfair subsidies often received by their counterparts elsewhere in the Community.

    Miss Emma Nicholson May I support the plea by the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke North (Mr. Howells) for help for farmers, and draw my right hon. Friend’s attention particularly to the extensification part of the common agricultural policy? The CAP is badly in need of modernisation, but surely extensification is the true new social way of helping farmers to retain their rural economy.

    Mr. Major Whether or not that is correct – and I suspect that it is – it is probably only tangential to the exchange rate mechanism.

    Mr. Chris Smith The Chancellor said on 2 November, and has said subsequently, that inflation must come down before Britain can join the exchange rate mechanism. He has also forecast that, at the end of next year, inflation will be running at 5¾ per cent. Will that figure be low enough, or is the inflation criterion simply another way of saying that he has no intention of taking Britain into the ERM in the foreseeable future?

    Mr. Major As the hon. Gentleman’s hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline, East (Mr. Brown) pointed out in a recent debate, I indicated my support for the exchange rate mechanism as long ago as 1981. The Government have set out four conditions that must be met before we can join the ERM; they were made entirely clear at Madrid, and they remain the same today.

    Mr. Butterfill Does my right hon. Friend agree that we cannot make progress on an exchange rate mechanism while restrictions on capital movement between member countries remain? Those restrictions include not only exchange rate control, but restrictions on the activities of banks in various countries in raising foreign currency debt.

    Mr. Major My hon. Friend is entirely right. He has touched on the other conditions that need to be met. We certainly need to see capital liberalisation, freedom of financial services and, of course, strengthened competition quality. Those matters are well understood by our European partners, who must deliver accordingly before we are in a position to join the ERM.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the National Loans Fund – 28 November 1989

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the National Loans Fund on 28th November 1989.

    Mr. Jack To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to use the power taken in the Finance Act 1989 to enable the Government to use the National Loans Fund money to acquire gilt-edged stock held in the issue department of the Bank of England for immediate cancellation.

    Mr. Major The first use of this power will be made on 6 December, when £4.5 billion of stock will be acquired from the issue department for immediate cancellation. The Bank of England will today be issuing a separate notice giving precise details of the stock to be cancelled.