Departmental Expenditure Limit (Hansard, 26 February 2001)

§ Mr. Prescott

Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates for Class III, Votes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' Departmental Expenditure Limits for 2000–01 will change as follows. All references to the take-up of end year flexibility refer to the Public Expenditure 1999–2000 Provisional Outturn White Paper presented to Parliament by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 18 July 2000 (Cm 4812).

(a) The DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit will be increased by £118,721,000 from £11,114,883,000 to £11,233,604,000. This increase reflects the net impact of a take-up of end year flexibility of £53,709,000; net transfers into the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit of £5,686,000 and calls on the DEL Reserve of £59,326,000. The changes are set out in greater detail as follows.

(i) The changes for Class III, Vote 1 are as follows:

Take up of End Year Flexibility of £17,795,000 comprising £6,000,000 for the Rough Sleepers Initiative, and £11,795,000 for European Regional Development Fund projects which is ring-fenced for these ERDF programmes only. A net increase in provision of £7,118,000 arising from the following inter-vote transfers: £8,000,000 from Class IX, Vote 1 in respect of the Regional Development Agencies; £580,000 from Class II, Vote 2 in respect of the Rough Sleepers Initiative; £1,334,000 to Class XII, Vote 3 in respect of the Benefit Agency's costs tot the New Deal for Communities programme; £88,000 to Class II, Vote 2 for Department of Health expenditure on the Rough Sleepers Initiative and £40,000 to Class IV, Vote 1 for Home Office expenditure related to the Special Grants Programme. A 329W reduction of running costs of £430,000 arising from savings for the Rent Assessment Panel transferred to Class III, Vote 5.

(ii) The changes for Class III, Vote 2 are as follows:

A call on the Reserve of £50,000,000 for London Underground Jubilee Line Extension and a further net increase of £36,980,000 from the following inter-vote transfers: £43,230,000 from Class III, Vote 11 for grant in aid to Strategic Rail Authority; £2,000,000 to Class III, Vote 7 for the Highways Agency; £1,000,000 to Class III, Vote 6 for a loan to the Vehicle Inspectorate; £1,000,000 to Class III, Vote 5 for the TAN21 project; £1,500,000 to Class VI, Vote 1 for the Royal flight and £750,000 to Class XHI, Vote 1 for track access grants. There is also a net increase of £3,175,000 arising from transfers from non-voted credit approvals for grant funding of the Manchester Metrolink (£15,000,00)) Sunderland Metro (£4,875,000) and World Squares (£200,000); £2,600,000 from non-voted Air Travel Trust Funds for Eurocontrol and transfers to non-voted credit approvals for the set-up costs associated with Road User Charging (£18,000,000) and a revised forecast IDA grant requirement (£1,500,000).

(iii) The changes for Class III Vote 3 are as follows: A transfer of provision of £6,182,000 from the non-voted element of DETR Main DEL for the Environment Agency to undertake work on contaminated land and to prepare for the Landfill Directive, to assist British Waterways with increased costs associated with flooding and towards clearing the maintenance backlog. A transfer of £500,000 from Class IX, Vote 1 for preliminary work establishing fuel poverty action zones under the Energy Efficiency Best Practice programme; transfers to and from Class III, Vote 5 of £489,000 for costs incurred establishing the Carbon Trust and £25,000 for the local authority air quality unit of the Environment Agency respectively.

(iv) The changes to Class III, Vote 5 are as follows:

The take up of £13,792,000 end year flexibility: for the Health and Safety Commission £7,000,000 of which £5,500,000 is running costs to meet the cost of the Cullen inquiry and other pressures; £856,000 for the PSA Services in respect of annual compensation payments for former employees; £1,800,000 to increase capital provision for Strategic IT projects and £4,136,000 to meet residual DETR relocation costs. A transfer of £4,644,000 from the Cabinet Office to increase running costs provision for the Civil Service Modernisation Fund of which £2,779,000 is for Central Administration, £895,000 for Government Offices Administration and £970,000 for the Health and Safety Commission. A net increase in provision of £663,000 arising from the following inter-vote transfers of £25,000 to Class HI, Vote 3 for the Environment Agency; £250,000 to Class III, Vote 8 for the smart tachograph costs; £1,000,000 to Class III, Vote 7 to meet 10 year plan and budget 2000 costs; £111,000 to Class III, Vote 6 to meet costs of Secretariat support for major inquiries in the Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency; £50,000 to Class III, Vote 6 to meet additional pension costs for the Rent Officer Services Agency; £430,000 savings from Class III, Vote 1; £489,000 from Class III, Vote 3 for the Carbon Trust; £180,000 from Class HI, Vote 4 for the cost of staff loaned by Government Office for London to Greater London Authority and £1,000,000 from Class III, Vote 2 330W for TAN21 project. There is a further draw down of £4,768,000 from the Departmental Unallocated Provision and an increase in Appropriations in Aid by £56,000 for Scottish Parking Appeal Fund and £80,000 for the sale of cars by Government offices.

(v) The changes to Class II, Vote 6 are as follows:

The take up of £8,449,000 end year flexibility for: the Planning Inspectorate (£1,136,000) dilapidation payments on Tollgate House; (£272,000) for works on Temple Quay; (£1,500,000) for lower than budgeted receipts; (£76,000 capital) for the Rent Officer Services Agency; (£2,500,000) to cover expenditure on furniture and equipment and on the Estates Rationalisation Programme; (£2,027,000) to cover slippage from 1999–2000 and (£938,000) to meet Information Technology system replacement costs. Transfers from the Cabinet Office Civil Service Modernisation Fund of £226,000 to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; £290,000 to the Planning Inspectorate; £51,000 to the Vehicle Certification Agency; £187,000 to the Rent Officer Services Agency; £100,000 to the Vehicle Inspectorate; £100,000 to the Driving Standards Agency and £19,000 to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre; transfer of £1,000,000 from the Capital Modernisation Fund to the Planning Inspectorate; transfers from the Departmental Unallocated Provision of £828,000 to the Rent Officer Services Agency to cover slippage from 1999–2000 and £112,000 to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; a transfer of £94,000 from Class X, Vote 2 to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for the testing of fishing vessel engine power, transfers of £111,000 from Class III, Vote 5 to the Planning Inspectorate to meet costs of Secretariat support for major inquiries and £50,000 to the Rent Officer Services Agency to cover a historic pensions liability. There is also a transfer of £1,000,000 from Class III, Vote 2 to cover a loan made to the Vehicle Inspectorate for building a new testing station at Chadderton.

(vi) The changes to Class III, Vote 7 are as follows:

The take up of end year flexibility of £6,021,000 programme capital and £687,000 running costs for dilapidation to Tollgate House, Bristol. The take up of £292,000 from the Departmental Unallocated Provision for running costs; transfer of £1,000,000 from Class III, Vote 5 for the 10 year plan and budget 2000 costs and £2,000,000 from Class III, Vote 2 for funding outlined in Highways Agency's Business Plan.

A further increase in expenditure of £15,298,000 will be offset by a compensating increase in Appropriations in Aid.

(vii) The changes in Class HI, Vote 8 are as follows:

The take up of capital end year flexibility of £6,965,000; the draw down of £4,788,000 from the Reserve to cover costs of the Graduated VED and HGV Rebate Schemes less a £1,400,000 transfer to the Reserve under the demand financing agreement with the Treasury; take up of £2,500,000 from the Departmental Unallocated Provision and a transfer of £250,000 from Class III, Vote 5 for smart tachograph costs. A further increase in expenditure of £9,031,000 will be offset by a compensating increase in Appropriations in Aid.

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(viii) The change to Class III, Vote 11 is a transfer of £43,230,000 to Class III, Vote 2 to reflect the establishment of the Strategic Rail Authority.

(ix) As a consequence of the changes to Class III, Votes 5, 6, 7 and 8 the DETR gross running costs limit has been increased by £16,045,000 from £702,154,000 to £718,199,000. The HSE gross running cost limit has increased by £6,470,000 from £180,717,000 to £187,187,000.

(x) Provision within the non-Voted element of the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit will be decreased by £18,357,000 from £2,650,148,000 to £2,631,791,000. This reflects transfers to: Class III, Vote 2 for grant funding of the Manchester Metrolink (£15,000,000); Sunderland Metro (£4,875,000); World Squares (£200,000); National Air Traffic Services Public Private Partnerships (£2,600,000); to Class HI, Vote 3 £6,182,000 for the Environment Agency to undertake work on contaminated land and to prepare for the Landfill Directive, to assist British Waterways with increased costs associated with flooding and towards clearing the maintenance backlog and £500,000 to the Local Government Departmental Expenditure Limit for the Isle of Scilly water credit approvals. It also includes running costs transfers from the DETR Departmental Unallocated Provision of £8,500,000 comprising £4,768,000 to Class III, Vote 5; £940,000 to Class III, Vote 6 for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (£112,000) and Rent Officer Services Agency (£828,000); £292,000 to Class III, Vote 7; and £2,500,000 to Class III, Vote 8. These decreases are partially offset by transfers from Class III, Vote 2 for costs associated with Road User Charging (£18,000,000) and for revised forecast of Industrial Development Act grant expenditure (£1,500,000).

(xi) The net increase in the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit will be offset by transfers to the Department of Health Departmental Expenditure Limit, Home Office Departmental Expenditure Limit, Department of Social Security Departmental Expenditure Limit, Ministry of Defence Departmental Expenditure Limit, DETR Local Government Departmental Expenditure Limit; from Department of Trade and Industry Departmental Expenditure Limit, Department of Health Departmental Expenditure Limit, Cabinet Office Departmental Expenditure Limit, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Departmental Expenditure Limit, the Capital Modernisation Fund and by a charge on the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

(b) The DETR Local Government Departmental Expenditure Limit will be increased by £320,000 from £35,361,148,000 to £35,361,468,000. This increase is the net effect of a transfer of £500,000 from the DETR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit and a transfer of £180,000 to Class III, Vote 5.

(i) The changes for Class III, Vote 4 are as follows: increased provision for Emergency Assistance to Local Authorities by £20,000,000 (mainly offset by a reduction of £15,100,000 in Private Finance Initiative Special grant and £2,900,000 Grant in Aid to the Standards Board for England and a transfer of £1,700,000 from non-voted programmes) and a transfer of £180,000 from the Greater London Authority Preparation Costs to Class III, Vote 5.

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(ii) Provision within the non-Voted element of the Local Government Departmental Expenditure Limit will be reduced by £1,200,000 from £139,111,000 to £137,911,000. This reflects a transfer of £1,700,000 to Class III, Vote 4 and a transfer of £500,000 from the Main Department Departmental Expenditure Limit reversing a transfer to the Main Department DEL which took place at Winter Supplementary Estimates.

(iii) The net increase in the DETR Local Government Departmental Expenditure Limit will be offset by a reduction in the DETR Main DEL and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

(c) The Office of the Rail Regulator Departmental Expenditure Limit will increase by a token amount of £1,000. The gross running cost limit will increase by £238,000 from £13,768,000 to £14,006,000 but the overall total is offset in full by a corresponding increase in Appropriations in Aid.