§ Mr. Gordon BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement explaining the variation in the figures for general Government gross domestic fixed capital formation, purchases of land and existing buildings net of sales in 1987–88 as(a) forecast in the 1987 public expenditure White Paper, Cm. 56, (b) estimated in the 1988 public expenditure White Paper, Cm. 288, (c) provided in the Official Report, of 28 March 1988, column 321, and (d) most recently estimated, following publication of figures for sales by the new town commission.
§ Mr. Major[holding answer 14 June 1988]: The table gives planned expenditure and estimated outturn figures for purchases, net of sales, of land and existing buildings by Department for 1987–88.
No detailed update to estimated outturns for 1987–88 has been made since these figures were produced for the 1988 public expenditure White Paper. The overall difference between planned expenditure and estimated outturn is mainly the result of substantially larger than expected sales.
The table shows purchases, net of sales, of land and existing buildings included in the planning total. Between Cm. 56 and Cm. 288 the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the Development Board for Rural Wales (new town activities) were given external finance treatment and their capital expenditure no longer features in the planning total. The presentation of the figures is consistent with the coverage used in the 1987 public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 56-II, Table 2–9) and in the table provided in the Official Reportof 28 March 1988 at column 321.It differs, however, from the presentation of purchases, net of sales, of land and existing buildings shown in table 2.11 of volume I of the 1988 public expenditure White Paper, which excluded public corporations not given external finance treatment.
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Purchases, net of sales, of land and existing buildings, by department, 1987–88 £ million Plans (Cm. 56) Estimated outturn (Cm. 288) Difference Defence -31 -63 -31 Foreign and Commonwealth Office1 35 36 +1 Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food2 -10 -28 -18 Employment 2 — -2 Transport 75 36 -39 DOE—Housing -1,236 -1,850 -614 DOE—Other environmental services -463 -830 -367 Home Office and legal departments3 -15 -27 -13 Education and science -51 -98 -47 DHSS—health and personal social services -138 -199 -61 Scotland -155 -261 -106 Wales -74 -93 -19 Northern Ireland -8 -4 +4 Other departments4 -36 -33 +3 TOTAL -2,105 -3,413 -1,308 1 Including Overseas Development Administration. 2 Including Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce and Forestry Commission. 3 This group comprises the Home Office, Lord Chancellor's Department, Northern Ireland Court Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Office, Procurator Fiscal Service and Lord Advocate's Department.
3Including Property Services Agency and Civil Superannuation.