§ Mr. CohenTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will set up an inquiry into the Taurus stock exchange computer system; what is his estimate of losses incurred as a result of the delays in implementing the system; and if he will indicate on whom the losses will fall.
§ Mr. NelsonI have been asked to reply.
Taurus was a private sector project managed by the stock exchange to modernise the equities settlement, registration and transfer systems in the United Kingdom. The priority now is to identify the best way forward to ensure the continued efficiency and competitiveness of our equity markets. I welcome the immediate establishment, by the governor of the Bank of England, of a task force on securities settlement, on which the Treasury is represented, to review the possibilities and to recommend a way foward.