North/South Implementation Bodies

HL Deb 15 July 2003 vol 651 c96WA

Lord Laird

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether money allocated to a Cross-Border Implementation Body can be transferred from one financial year to the next for the same purposes, after discussion with the Department of Finance. [HL3612]

Lord Williams of Mostyn

North/South Implementation Bodies do not have any automatic right to carry forward unspent resources from one financial year to the next. Where additional resources are required in any financial year as a consequence of slippage in the timing of expenditure in the previous year this would require a specific request to be made by the body during the course of the formal budget process. Any such request would be considered in the context of the body's business plan for the year in question and would be subject to ministerial approval North and South in accordance with the agreement made by the exchange of notes between the two Governments dated 19 November 2002.