Departmental Expenditure Limits

HC Deb 05 November 1999 vol 337 cc364-5W

Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes to the 1999–2000 departmental expenditure limits and running cost limits within his responsibility. [97832]

Mr. Straw

Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates, the Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be increased by £11,319,000 from £7,752,125,000 to £7,763,444,000. The running cost limit will be increased by £1,561,000 from £2,136,392,000 to £2,137,953,000. A separate running cost limit of £163,000 will be established for expenditure on Welfare to Work.

The changes in Class IV, Vote 1 are the net effect of the following transfers: £455,000 to the Department of Trade and Industry (Class IX, Vote 1), £50,000 to the Welsh Assembly (Class XIV, Vote 1), £1,499,000 to Prison Service (Class IV, Vote 2) in respect of the Crime Reduction Programme; £100,000 to the Lord Chancellor's Department (Class V, Vote 1) in respect of a new offence to reduce volatile substance abuse; £28,000 to the Treasury Solicitors (Class V, Vote VI) in relation to extending the Attorney-General's powers on unduly lenient sentences; £700,000 from the DEL Reserve in respect of a contribution to the Active Community Initiative; £10,000 to Department of Health (Class II, Vote II) as contribution towards a research programme; Neutral payment of £3,000,000 from the Lord Chancellor's Department (Class V, Vote 1) in respect of the Confiscated Assets Fund; £15,000 to the Prison Service (Class IV, Vote II) in respect of secondment costs; £5,067,000 from the Scottish Office (Class XIII, Vote 5) in respect of the balance due following a reduction in the level of contribution by the Scottish Office (Class XIII, Vote 5) in respect of the balance due following a reduction in the level of contribution by the Scottish Office towards Criminal Injuries administration and compensation costs from 13 per cent. to 11 per cent.; £7,000,000 from the DEL Reserve in respect of administration costs for the Asylum Seekers Directorate; £305,000 to the Department of Health (Class II, Vote II) in respect of drugs related research; Neutral payments of £100,000 from the Department of Health, £100,000 from the Department for Education and Employment, £100,000 from the Lord Chancellor's Department and £36,000 from the Welsh Assembly in respect of a contribution towards grant in aid for the National Family and Parenting Institute; Neutral payment of £12,000 from the Cabinet Office in respect of contribution towards grant in aid for Youth Net.

The changes in Class IV, Vote 2 are the net effect of the following transfers: £500,000 to the Department of Health (Class II, Vote 2) for the running costs of the Prison Health Policy Unit and the Prison Health Task Force; £1,499,000 from the Home Office (Class IV, Vote 1) in respect of the Crime Reduction Programme; and £15,000 from the Home Office (Class IV, Vote 1) to cover a secondment to the Mental Health Unit. In addition, the Supplementary Estimate gives effect to the take up of £173,000 for Welfare to Work DEL under the end year flexibility scheme entitlements announced by my right hon. Friend the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 27 July 1999, Official Report, column 393, in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Ms Lawrence).

The increase in the Department's running costs limit is the net effect of the following transfers: £500,000 to the Department of Health for the running costs of the Prison Health Policy Unit and the Prison Health Task Force; £205,000 to the Department of Trade and Industry and £50,000 to the Welsh Assembly in respect of the Crime Reduction Programme; £28,000 to the Treasury Solicitors in relation to extending the Attorney General's powers on unduly lenient sentences; £10,000 to the Department of Health as contribution towards a research programme; £3,000,000 from the DEL Reserve in respect of administration costs for the Asylum Seekers Directorate; transfer of £646,000 from the Departmental Unallocated Provision to other current expenditure to meet the cost of upgrading the Emergency Communications Network.

These increases will be offset by transfers or charged to the Reserve and will not, therefore, add to the planned total of expenditure.