Cash Limits (Hansard, 31 January 1997)

§ Mr. Robin Squire

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IX, vote 1—Department for Education and Employment: programmes and central services—and class IX vote 3, Employment Service, will be amended as follows:

Class	Vote	Existing cash limit	Change	New cash limit
		£	£	£
IX	1	8,745,142,000	-58,515,000	8,686,627,000
IX	3	1,288,977,000	-20,303,000	1,268,674,000

The cash limit for class IX. vote 1, will be decreased by £58,515,000 from £8,745,142,000 to £8,686,627,000 This is the result of a transfer of £56,000,000 from section A, I and J to the non-cash-limited demand-led element of funding for further education, section B; £8,100,000 in expenditure from section A is to be transferred to the non-voted DfEE/LACAP cash limit.

Transfers to other Departments and votes include £17,000 to the Department of the Environment as a contribution to the Manchester bomb appeal. £60,000 to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for salary-related costs of British teachers working in overseas countries, £2,300,00 to the Department of Social Security in respect of bridging allowances, £190,000 to the Employment Service in relation to post-merger administrative changes, £165,000 and £66,000 of running costs and capital provision respectively to the Office for National Statistics in respect of machinery of Government changes and premises costs.

These transfers have been partially offset by the take-up of £7,000,000 running costs end-year flexibility entitlement, as announced by the Chief Secretary to the House of Commons on 12 July 1996, Official Report. columns 326–31, an increase of £1,000,000 in publicity expenditure funded through a transfer from the Employment Service and increases of £143,000 on specialist schools expenditure and £240,000 on the private finance initiative expenditure offset by corresponding decreases in the DfEE/LACAP cash limit.

As a result of the changes, the DfEE/LACAP cash limit will be increased by £7,717,000 from £46 523,000 to £54,240,000.

398W

The cash limit for class IX, vote 3—Employment Service-will be decreased by £20,303,000 from £1,288,977,000 to £1,268,674,000. The running costs limit for vote 3 will be decreased by £2,993,000 from £910,151,000 to £907,158,000 as a result of a net transfer of £31,423,000 to the Department of Social Security to cover staff and services transferred to the Benefits Agency as part of the implementation of the jobseeker's allowance, a transfer to the Cabinet Office of £750,000 for advance funding of annual compensation payments for early departures, a transfer of £10,000 to the Inland Revenue to cover the transfer of responsibility for accommodation at Bognor Regis, the take-up of £29,000,000 under the running costs end-year flexibility scheme and a transfer of £190,000 from the Department for Education and Employment to cover work now undertaken by the Employment Service.

The ES's other current provision will be reduced by £21,000,000 from £111,571,000 to £90,571,000 as a result of a transfer to the Department for Education and Employment, to help cover an increase int he demand-led element of further education expenditure and publicity expenditure.

The ES's capital provision will be increased by £3,690,000 from £86,200,00 to £89,890,000 as a result of the take-up of £3,000,000 of the capital end year flexibility entitlement, as announced by the Chief Secretary to the House of Commons on 12 July 1996, Official Report, cols. 326–31. and £690,000 from the Department of Social Security for the refurbishment of the Doncaster local office following the reassignment of the lease to the Employment Service.

The running costs provision for class IX, vote 1, will be increased by £6,645,000 from £367,263,000 to £373,908,000. The running costs provision for class IX, vote 3, will be decreased by £2,993,000 from £910,151,000 to £907,158,000. The gross running costs limit for the Department for Education and Employment is increased by £3,652,000 from £1,277,414,000 to £1,281,066,000.