Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the overspend by the legal directorate of the central services agency against its contract income for the year 1996–97; what measures he proposes to address the overspend; and what funding he proposes to make available to the legal directorate of the Central Services Agency in order to cover its overspend. [10876]
§ Mr. MossThe information requested is not available.
The level of expenditure of the legal services directorate of the Central Services Agency against contract income for 1996–97 will not be known until the end of the financial year at 31 March 1997.
The legal services directorate is an integral part of the CSA and as such is required to live within its budget by breaking even on income and expenditure taking one year with another. Consequently, if an overspend were incurred, the legal services directorate would be required to identify and take the necessary measures to absorb the deficit. There are no plans at this stage to provide additional funding to the CSA's legal services directorate.