§ Mr. Corrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the external financing limits for the Scottish electricity boards in the current financial year.
§ Mr. YoungerI propose to make the following changes in the external financing limits of the two Scottish electricity boards in 1985–86.
SSEB NSHEB £ million £ million Previous limit 191.0 +9.2 Revised limit 238.2 -19.0 Change +47.2 -28.2 These new limits take account of the knock-on effects of the miners' strike and provide for a rephasing of expenditure on Torness power station. They also take account of the need for a financial adjustment between the boards following the South of Scotland Electricity Board's revision in 1984–85 of its nuclear and coal-fired power station asset lives, which has no net effect on the total of their EFLs. The net increase in EFLs of £19 million is being charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the public expenditure planning total.