§ Sir Peter BlakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he proposes to make any changes to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office cash limits.
§ Mr. EggarSubject to parliamentary approval of the necessary revised and Supplementary Estimates, the cash limit for Class II Vote 1 (overseas representation) will be reduced by £2,861,000 from £434,883,000 to £432,022,000 and the cash limit for Vote 3 (BBC external broadcasting and monitoring) will be increased by the corresponding amount of £2,861,000 from £114,621,000 to £117,482,000. This reflects the rationalisation of the operation of the three FCO broadcast relay stations at Orfordness, Masirah and Cyprus whereby the BBC external services will take over financial responsibility from the FCO for certain United Kingdom-based BBC support staff, technical maintenance and utilities costs. The transfer does not represent increased funding for additional broadcasting activity; nor does it add to the planning total of public expenditure.