Departmental Expenditure Limit (Hansard, 5 November 1999)

§ Mr. Prescott

Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates for Class III, Votes 1, 2, 6, 8 and 11, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' Departmental Expenditure Limits for 1999–2000 will change as follows. All references to the take-up of end year flexibility refer to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's announcement of 27 July 1999,Official Report, column 393.

(i) The DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit will be increased by £542,447,000 from £9,692,857,000 to £10,235,305,000. This increase reflects the net impact of a take-up of end year flexibility of £400,755,000; transfers out of the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit of £11,278,000; and a call on the Departmental Expenditure Limit Reserve of £152,970,000. The changes are set out in greater detail below.

(a) The changes for Class III, Vote 1 are as follows: £64,765,000 for expenditure in advance of EC receipts on European Regional Development Fund programmes incurred on behalf of this Department, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department for Culture, Media and Sports, and the Department for Education and Employment; take up of end year flexibility of £45,684,000 for programmes including the Major Repairs Initiative (£15,180,000), Single Regeneration Budget projects (£4,980,000), Regional Development Agencies (£4,111,000), initiatives in the UK construction industry following the Egan task force report and consultancies in Turkey (£3,750,000) and other smaller programmes (£17,663,000); a transfer of £7,500,000 from the non-Voted element of the DETR Main Programmes 347W Departmental Expenditure Limit due to an increase in demand for disabled facilities grants; a transfer of £1,096,000 from Class IX, Vote 1 (Department of Trade and Industry: programmes and administration) to cover ex-Department of Trade and Industry staff costs in Regional Development Agencies; and a reduction of £6,009,000 as a result of the cash limit breach on Class VI, Vote 4 in 1998–99. A transfer of £8,978,000 from the DETR Departmental Unallocated Provision will be made to cover the rationalisation of the inherited sub-regional office structure and costs associated with ex-Departmental staff in Regional Development Agencies. There will also be inter-vote transfers of £72,900,000 to Class III, Vote 6 (Transport industries) to provide additional funding for London Transport and to reflect the transfer of responsibility within the Department for the Docklands Light Railway.

(b) The changes for Class III, Vote 2 are as follows: inter-vote transfers of £5,944,000 from Class III, Vote 8 (Highways Agency) for multi modal studies and road user charging research; £94,000 from Class III, Vote 3 (Environmental protection and water) for work on petrol and diesel emissions testing; and £9,000 from the non-Voted element of the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit for the National Travel Survey. There are also inter-vote transfers of £500,000 to Class III, Vote 3 (Environmental protection and water) for the Powershift project; £150,000 to Class III, Vote 6 (Transport industries) for a National Bus Summit, the Indian Transport seminar and a consultancy project; £200,000 to Class XIV, Vote 1 (Welsh Office, Secretary of State for Wales and payments to the National Assembly for Wales) for planning expenditure; £203,000 to Class XIII, Vote 1 (Scotland and transfers to the Scottish Consolidated Fund) for a Scottish travel awareness campaign; and £58,000 to Class IX, Vote 1 (Department of Trade and Industry: science) for a research project.

(c) The changes for Class III, Vote 3 are as follows: a transfer of £4,425,000 to Class XIII, Vote 1 (Scotland and transfers to the Scottish Consolidated Fund) for the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme; a transfer of £1,387,000 also to Class XIII, Vote 1 (Scotland and transfers to the Scottish Consolidated Fund) for the work of the Energy Saving Trust; transfers of £48,000 and £44,000 respectively to Class XIV, Vote 1 (Welsh Office, Secretary of State for Wales and payments to the National Assembly for Wales) and Class XIII, Vote 1 (Scotland and transfers to the Scottish Consolidated Fund) for Welsh and Scottish regional energy efficiency publicity work; and a transfer of £94,000 to Class III, Vote 2 (Planning, roads, local transport and vehicle safety) for work on petrol and diesel emission measurement by the Transport Research Laboratory. There are also inter-vote transfers from Class III, Vote 2 (Planning, roads, local transport and vehicle safety) of £500,000 to the Powershift project; £1,200,000 from Class III, Vote 8 (Highways Agency) for the Powershift project; and a transfer of £2,400,000 from the DETR Departmental Unallocated Provision to meet demand led pressures on the Pneumoconiosis compensation scheme.

(d) The changes for Class III, Vote 6 are as follows: an agreed claim on the Reserve of £152,970,000 to provide for payment of compensation to the National Bus Company Pension Scheme fund; take-up of £290,306,000 of end year flexibility to provide additional funding 348W for London Transport, the Marchioness public inquiry, increased expenditure by the Marine Accident Investigation Board on Marine Environment High Risk Areas and the Docklands Light Railway. There will be inter-vote transfers of £150,000 from Class III, Vote 2 (Planning, roads, local transport and vehicle safety) for the National Bus Summit, the Indian Transport seminar and a consultancy project; £72,900,000 from Class III, Vote 1 (Housing, construction, regeneration, regional policy and countryside and wildlife, England) representing additional funding for London Transport and a transfer of responsibility within the Department for the Docklands Light Railway; and a transfer of £1,000,000 to the non-Voted element of the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit for the re-introduction of Supplementary Credit Approvals for local authority ports.

(e) The changes for Class III, Vote 8 are as follows: transfers of £5,944,000 to Class III, Vote 2 (Planning, roads, local transport and vehicle safety) for multi modal studies and road user charging research; a transfer of £1,200,000 to Class III, Vote 3 (Environmental protection and water) for the Powershift project; and an increase in provision of £1,000 to allow for additional Appropriations in Aid to be used.

(f) Provision within the non-Voted element of the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit will be decreased by £17,887,000 from £1,734,692,000 to £1,716,805,000. This reflects a transfer of £7,500,000 to Class III, Vote 1 (Housing, construction, regeneration, regional policy, and countryside and wildlife, England) due to an increase in demand for disabled facilities grants; and a transfer of £9,000 to Class III, Vote 2 (Planning, roads, local transport and vehicle safety) for the National Travel Survey. It also includes transfers from the DETR Departmental Unallocated Provision of £2,400,000 to Class III, Vote 3 (Environmental protection and water) to meet demand led pressures on the Pneumoconiosis compensation scheme; and of £8,978,000 to Class III, Vote 1 (Housing, construction, regeneration, regional policy and countryside and wildlife, England) to cover the rationalisation of the inherited sub-regional office structure and costs associated with ex-Departmental staff in Regional Development Agencies. There is a transfer of £1,000,000 from Class III, Vote 6 (Transport industries) for the re-introduction of Supplementary Credit Approvals for local authority ports.

The net increase in the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit will be offset by transfers to the Scotland Departmental Expenditure Limit; to the Wales Departmental Expenditure Limit; from the Department of Trade and Industry Departmental Expenditure Limit; and by a charge on the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

(ii) The Office of the Rail Regulator Departmental Expenditure Limit will increase by £1,133,000 from £1,000 to £1,134,000. This increase reflects the take-up of £1,133,000 running costs end year flexibility to meet increased in-year requirements associated with ongoing consultancy programmes and additional accommodation costs. The running cost limit will be increased by £1,133,000 from £8,900,000 to £10,033,000.

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The increase in the Office of the Rail Regulator Departmental Expenditure Limit will be offset by a charge on the DEL Reserve and will therefore not add to the planned total of public expenditure.