§ 21. Mr. Bruce-Gardyneasked the Secretary of State for Scotland which blocks of expenditure within his Department have breached their cash limits in the current financial year, and why.
§ Mr. YoungerSDD1 and SHHD2.
The reasons for the Scottish Development Department overspend are that the cost of trunk road improvement schemes in progress increased faster than the allowance for inflation in road construction costs, and some major schemes made faster progress than expected because of the mild winter.
The Scottish Home and Health Department overspend is due to unexpectedly high staff costs on the prison service, caused by increased overtime, attributable to a higher number of more dangerous prisoners requiring special security measures, the aftermath of the serious incident at Peterhead prison, and increases in sick leave and in the numbers of court escorts required.