§ Mr. Matthew BanksTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the implications for public finances of unfunded future public pension liabilities in the EU.[3156]
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThanks to this Government's policies the United Kingdom's net unfunded public pension liabilities are lower as a proportion of gross domestic product than those of other major EU member states.
Article 104b—the "no bail-out" clause—of the Maastricht treaty makes clear that a member state cannot be liable for another member state's commitments in any area of spending. The treaty therefore ensures that the UK will not have to pay for the liabilities of another member state, regardless of whether or not we join the economic and monetary union.
Rules on excessive deficits, reinforced by the proposed stability pact currently under negotiation, are designed to ensure that member states participating in EMU cannot follow irresponsible fiscal policies which could destabilise the market and affect other participating member states. If a member state needs to address a build-up of liabilities of any kind, it will not be able to fund them through excessive borrowing.
1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 BA CSA CA BA CSA CA BA CSA CA Target 44.60 1— 2,603 55.00 1— 4,005 75.00 5,728 12,670 Achievement 67.94 1— 3,800 79.27 1— 7,106 98.46 8,746 13,729 1No efficiency target for CSA in 1993–94 and 1994–95. It is not possible to break down these figures to local level. Local managers are expected to seek out further efficiencies. For north Staffordshire, these include:
In 1993–94—centralisation of telephone, switchboard, typing, finance and visiting services and a reduction of two management posts;In 1994–95—reorganisation and co-location of various benefit sections and a reduction of three management posts, andIn 1995–96—centralisation of Social Fund and returned order book operations and a further reduction of two management posts.