HC Deb 05 November 1999 vol 337 c361W
Ann Keen

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there are any proposals to amend the departmental expenditure limit/running costs limit for 1999–2000. [97871]

Mr. Hain

Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates for Class VII Vote 1 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Departmental Expenditure limit for 1999–2000 will be increased by £59,218,000 from £1,112,022,000 to £1,171,240,000 and the running costs limit has been decreased by £1,000,000 from £531,968,000 to £530,968,000. The increase is the net effect of:

  1. (i) additional provision of £36,702,000 on Section B for UK contributions to United Nations Missions in the former Yugoslavia (includes UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) and the former Soviet Union, United Nations Special Commission on Iraq, United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission, United Nations Mission for the Referendum on Western Sahara, United Nations Police Mission in Haiti, United Nations Mission in East Timor, United Nations Observe Mission in Angola, United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Central African Republic, United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone, the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Community Monitoring Mission and Western European Union Police Mission in Albania. This is partially offset by a reduction of £1,000,000 in Section A;
  2. (ii) an increase in provision of £3,000,000 to support an independent media in Serbia, civil society in Serbia and to continue the provision of forensic teams to the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia;
  3. (iii) a transfer of £12,000,000 to Section A from DOD (Class VIII, Vote 1), in respect of Chevening Scholarship;
  4. (iv) take up of end year flexibility of £8,516,000 for assistance to Sierra Leone as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to House of Commons on 27 July 1999, Official Report, column 393.

The increase will be offset by a transfer from another Departmental Expenditure Limit (DfID) and a change on the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

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