Policy Announcements, Thursday 14 June

Government

• Gordon Brown has made his final parliamentary appearance as chancellor, defending the government's record and announcing a new reform of the Bank of England. The chancellor received plaudits and brickbats in equal measure as he appeared before the Treasury select committee shortly before heading to the Commons for his final question time session. He took the opportunity of appearing before the select committee to announce changes to the way external members of the monetary policy committee are appointed, pledging greater transparency in future. And in the Commons, George Osborne began with congratulations "for the remarkable achievement of surviving 10 years at the Treasury, even if it was for twice as long as he wanted".
• Plan announced as research shows support for tackling saving inertia. The Government today published details of a new savings scheme to give all employees the right to a workplace pension with a contribution from their employer. The Government's response to the Personal Accounts consultation was published as new research showed strong support for plans to tackle savings inertia by automatically enrolling employees into the new scheme. The Attitudes to Pensions research report showed that 84 per cent of people surveyed supported the idea of a national pension savings scheme such as personal accounts, and 68 per cent supported automatic enrolment, particularly if there was an employer contribution.

Liberal Democrats

• The Liberal Democrats have unveiled plans to build one million more council houses. In a speech in Birmingham on Thursday, Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell was setting out plans to radically extend the supply of housing. "We need to break the pattern of the last 10 years with a revolution in housing policy," he said. The Lib Dem leader said Labour policies had failed to keep pace with demand, forcing house prices up and making them unaffordable for many. However he added that as well as making more private purchases possible, the government must also expand rented accommodation in the social sector.

EU

• A new European Union (EU) law on travellers declaring cash comes into force tomorrow. It is being introduced to help combat money laundering. People who are either entering the UK from a non EU country, or are travelling from the UK to a non EU country and are carrying 10,000 Euros or more (or the equivalent in other currencies) will be required to declare the cash to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) at the place of their departure from, or arrival in, the UK.