Public Trust Office (Hansard, 23 October 2000)

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consultation his Department has had with the Trustees of(a) the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund and (b) the House of Commons Pension Fund about their losing the services of the Public Trust Office. [134032]

§ Jane Kennedy
The report of the Quinquennial Review of the Public Trust Office was circulated as a consultation document to a wide group of stakeholders and organisations with a potential interest. Copies of this report were placed in the Libraries of both Houses. On 14 November 1999 I sent copies to the hon. Member for Bournemouth West (Mr. Butterfill) and to the right hon. Member for South Norfolk (Mr. MacGregor), the Chairmen of these funds, offering to meet them to discuss the changes. I wrote again to both MPs on this subject on 7 May. Throughout, Public Trust Office officials have been in communication with officials of these pension funds.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what continuing safeguards are to be in place to protect clients with less than £10,000 and their funds after those funds have been transferred elsewhere from the Public Trust Office. [134033]

§ Jane Kennedy
In cases where the Public Trustee is discharged as Receiver by the Court of Protection the Court must be satisfied that the client continues to be protected. In those cases where there is an external receiver (for example, a relative or solicitor), receivers are required to continue to keep a full record of transactions concluded on behalf of the client; the Court of Protection can call for an account at any time; and it is intended to call for an account in a percentage of these cases as a matter of administrative routine.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department where the replacement body for the Public Trust Office will be located. [134036]

§ Jane Kennedy
The replacement body for the Public Trust Office will be located in Greater London.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures he is taking to ensure that the cost to Public Trust Office clients does not increase if solicitors are appointed as last resort receivers and are permitted to charge on a timed basis. [134037]

§ Jane Kennedy
It is intended that the affairs of Public Trustee Receivership clients be transferred to a number of new service providers, not just solicitors. Where appropriate, the new receiver will be a family member (who will not charge a fee) or a local authority.
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There is, however, a strong argument that clients should pay the market rate for work undertaken on their behalf if they can afford to do so. Where solicitors take on receivership work, charges are either on a fixed costs or on a timed basis. If the charge is on a timed basis, bills will be verified by the Supreme Court Costs Office to ensure that the number of hours billed is reasonable, and that the hourly rate is within the guidelines set.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what guarantees will be given to clients that losses to clients arising from fraud or mismanagement will continue to be made good when clients' investments currently managed by the Public Fund Office Receivership Division, Trust Division and Court Funds Office are managed by an external custodian; [134038]
(2) who will be responsible for the compensation given to Public Trust Office clients for losses on investments and fraud where such investments are made by an external custodian. [134039]

§ Jane Kennedy
Some of the Public Trust Office's existing clients already have assets held externally and, depending upon the arrangements, they may have recourse to statutory compensation schemes, and where appropriate, will be protected by the custodian's insurance policy. The regulatory authorities require companies undertaking custodian work to ensure that proper segregation of assets is maintained.
The Public Trust Office will ensure, in setting up any contract with external custodians, and on an ongoing basis, that rigorous auditing arrangements are in place to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and that companies have suitable insurance cover.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what level of staffing is proposed for the body replacing the Public Trust Office. [134035]

§ Jane Kennedy
Work is still proceeding to determine the exact size of the organisation that will replace the Public Trust Office so it is too early to give exact figures for the level of staffing that will be required. I shall, however, by the year end, be able to offer a specific estimate of the number of staff likely to be required for the new organisation as at April 2001. That number will be expected to reduce over time as the Public Trustee receivership work is transferred to other service providers and business efficiencies are implemented.