156/97
5 December 1997
NEW EURO PREPARATIONS UNIT TO HELP BUSINESS
Business readiness for trading in the single currency after 1 January 1999 will be boosted by a new Euro Preparations Unit (EPU) within the Treasury, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced today.
Announcing the setting up of the EPU, which will also involve the Department of Trade and Industry, he said :
"Both Government and business must prepare intensively for EMU. The changes affecting British business within its largest export market are just thirteen months away.
Together, we must be ready to take advantage of the opportunities and prepare for the challenges which lie ahead.
"The Government is committed to help business prepare to compete successfully against other firms using the euro from January 1999. We will also be working with business on what must be done to prepare for the option of joining the single currency ourselves in the next Parliament.
"To achieve these aims we need resources dedicated to the task. The new Euro Preparations Unit I am announcing today marks a significant step forwards towards providing the assistance business requires."
Building on work already in progress, the EPU is intended to be fully operational early in the New Year. The Unit will include around 15 members drawn from the Treasury, DTI and other Government Departments and business.
Reporting in first instance to Lord Simon, it will support the existing Standing Committee on preparations for EMU and stimulate and steer business and public authority preparations.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. The aims and objectives of the EPU are :
Aims
(1) To ensure UK business and public authorities are read for the introduction of the euro in other EU countries on 1 January 1999.
(2) To complete the necessary planning and preparation to enable UK entry early in the next Parliament, if this is what the Government, Parliament and people decide.
Objectives
(1) To develop the Standing Committee into a comprehensive and effective mechanism for preparations for EMU.
(2) To produce a draft UK "national changeover plan" covering all relevant issues and players which would be affected if the UK were to join the single currency.
(3) To develop the long term arrangements for carrying forward preparation, should the UK decide to move to the single currency.(4) To stimulate and steer business and public authority preparation both for the launch of the euro in 1999 and for possible UK entry.
(5) To increase public awareness of the facts and practical issues relating to the launch of the euro. This will include a programme of coordination with external organisations which can reach wider audiences.
(6) To ensure that the UK benefits from the experience of other countries in both technical preparation and public education for the introduction of the euro.
2. The main areas of work for the EPU will be :
(1) Providing analytical, planning and secretarial support to the Standing Committee and the other groups.
(2) Designing and managing information programmes aimed at business, public authorities and the general public (through conferences, publications, speeches etc).
(3) Identifying the main policy issues, and developing and implementing solutions to them.
(4) Establishing an effective two-way channel of communication with business and public authorities to stimulate cross fertilisation of ideas, dissemination of best practice and the identification and solution of policy issues.
(5) Gathering, disseminating and using the experience of other countries.
(6) Reporting at regular intervals to Treasury Ministers and through them to other Ministers, on the progress of preparation.
3. The EPU will be located in the Macroeconomic Policy and Prospects Directorate of the Treasury, working closely with the team working on Government policy towards EMU. It will report initially to Lord Simon, Treasury Minister responsible for EMU business preparation, and ultimately to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
4. The EPU will work with and through other Government departments with responsibilities relating to particular industries. There will be a joint Treasury and DTI management committee with responsibility for ensuring liaison between the Departments and determining the longer-term direction of the Unit.
5. The EPU will be organised into three sub-units:
(i) Standing Committee Secretariat, whose main tasks will be to plan the work of the Standing Committee and other groups. It will compile the Standing Committee's reports and produce policy papers for the Committee on general matters which do not arise directly from particular business sectors.
(ii) Information Programme Section, whose main task will be to develop and implement the necessary information programmes. A great deal of this work will be contracted out to professional advisers and contractors. The section will manage external consultants and the overall programme.
(iii) Business Advice Section, comprising around six advisers with responsibility for particular business sectors or parts of the public sector. Each adviser would also have a responsibility for a particular thematic issue, eg information technology. Advisers will be responsible for developing two-way communication with business and the public sector and identifying and resolving specific preparatory issues, such as changes to particular legislation.
6. EPU staff costs are expected to be around 0.5 million Pounds, with an initial information programmes budget of 1 million Pounds. Funds would also be sought from relevant European Community programmes
7. Copies of recent Treasury publications on EMU can be obtained from the Public Enquiries Unit on 0171-270 4860/4870/4880 or on this site.
8. Media enquiries should be directed to the Treasury Press Office on 0171-270 5188.