§ Mr. Gristasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he proposes to make any changes to his Department's cash limits in the current year.
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§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsYes. The cash limit on class XVI, vote 1, is being reduced by £14,790,000 from £186,459,000 to £171,669,000. This reduction reflects the fact that spending on the trunk road programme has fallen below the available provision, mainly on account of a lower rate of spend than forecast on schemes under construction.
Also, the cash limit on class XVI, vote 5, is being reduced by £7,227,000 from £46,610,000 to £39,383,000. This reduction largely relates to provision for the Welsh Development Agency and reflects the agency's success in achieving higher than estimated income, which has allowed it to carry out its programmes at a lower net cost to the Government.
Finally, the cash limit on class XVI, vote 7, is being reduced by £500,000 from £33,031,000 to £32,531,000. This reduction reflects mainly the slippage of expenditure in respect of the purchase of a main frame computer.
These savings are being used to offset most of the increased expenditure arising from spring supplementary increases in class XVI, votes 2, 3 and 8.