§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about initiatives his Department is taking with respect to insurance in the inner cities.
§ Mr. AtkinsThis Department has a particular responsibility for insurance matters in the inner cities.
We recognise that the availability of insurance cover can pose difficulties for businesses in inner-city areas and a procedure was agreed with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in October 1986 to help overcome these problems. These arrangements are working well and the local authorities in Lambeth, Leeds and Manchester are now associated with them.
In addition, the ABI has now launched a series of advice files on small business insurance, one of which deals with inner-city business insurance. The ABI is also proposing to set up two pilot insurance advice centres in Birmingham and Manchester to provide essential information to small businesses. The Government's city action teams in those cities are assisting with premises. This marks a further stage in the close co-ordination of effort between the Government and the association, which can only help the inner-city business community.