§ Mr. TraceyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any changes will be made to his Department's cash and running cost limits for 1990–91.
§ Mr. LilleyThe cash limit for class IV, vote 2 (support for industry, international trade, statutory and regulatory work, consumer protection, and administration) will be reduced by £11,308,000 from £801,681,000 to £790,373,000. The running costs limit for the Department of Trade and Industry will be reduced by £3,024,000 from £303,764,000 to £300,740,000.
The reduction in the cash limit covers a reduction of £7,958,000 in grant-in-aid external finance provision for 650W the English Industrial Estates Corporation from £24,758,000 to £16,800,000 reflecting current conditions in the property market, and a reduction of £350,000 for the Government's contribution to a rent subsidy for the International Sugar and Wheat Organisation following the transfer of responsibility to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (class III, vote 4).
The reduction in the running cost limit is due principally to lower-than-expected costs for the restructuring of the National Engineering Laboratory. It also reflects some savings resulting from the reorganisation of certain headquarters divisions announced by my predecessor to the House of Commons on 21 February 1990, Official Report, columns 791–92, and £24,000 in respect of the transfer of some functions from gross running cost control areas to those exempt from gross running cost control.