§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the financial control arrangements for the registers of Scotland.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe registers of Scotland (ROS) was approved for exemption from gross running costs control from 1989–90 on the basis of meeting certain management, performance and financial targets, in particular that it should recover the full costs of its services each year. ROS has been unable to meet the cost recovery target this year and will require supplementary substantive provision for 1990–91.
Exemption has therefore been suspended for the remainder of 1990–91 with the result that changes in ROS gross expenditure and its funding have been subject to full Treasury scrutiny.
Net control (the successor to exemption) will resume from April 1991, subject to ROS making good the shortfall in income for 1990–91 in 1991–92.