HC Deb 01 April 1996 vol 275 cc7-8W
Mr. Darling

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received regarding his Department's policy on the disposal of orphan assets held by the life assurance industry: and if he will make a statement. [23995]

Mr. Nelson

My Department's general approach to this question was set out by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Corporate Affairs on 24 February 1995,Official Report, columns 362–63, in the context of an announcement by the United Friendly Insurance Co. about attribution of its estate. Since then, a number of life offices have announced that they are entering discussions with my Department over the attribution of their long-term funds. In addition, the Department has received representations from some 20 interested parties.

Mr. Darling

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the value of orphan assets currently held by the life assurance industry. [23996]

Mr. Nelson

A precise figure is not available. Any estimate is subject to a wide margin of error because of the differences in the circumstances of individual companies. In aggregate, the unattributed assets of long-term funds of proprietary life offices are likely to be of the order of £20 billion to £25 billion. I expect much of this to remain undistributed within the funds for the foreseeable future.