HC Deb 30 January 1989 vol 146 cc27-8W
Mr. Baldry

To ask the Secretary of State for the Evironmnt whether he has any changes to announce to his Department's cash limits for 1988–89.

Mr. Ridley

Yes. I propose the following changes, subject to parliamentay approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates.

The cash limit for class X, vote 2 (central environmental services, etc) will be increased by £3.013 million to £253.196 million to cover increased grant in respect of the new towns development corporations' roads programme. This will be partly offset by savings within the vote.

The cash limit for class X, vote 4 (royal palaces, royal parks, historic buildings, ancient monuments and the national heritage) will be increased by £14.055 million from £91.201 million to £105.256 million mainly to cover a payment to the National Trust to terminate my Department's obligations under leases in relation to Ham house and Osterley house. This expenditure will be partly offset by savings within the vote.

The cash limit for class X, vote 5 (Department of the Environment: administration) will be increased by £0.733 million from £129.337 million to £130.070 million to take account of a receipt which will not arise in 1988–89 as originally expected. The Department of the Environment's running costs limit will be reduced by £0.182 million from £159.862 million to £159.680 million. This reduction reflects transfers of £0.017 million to the Cabinet Office: Office of the Minister for the Civil Service (class XX, vote 1) for the costs of recruitment under the direct entry grade 7 competition 1988, and of £0.165 million to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (class XX, vote 16) for increased expenditure by OPCS on services provided to my Department. The reduction in the DOE's limit will be offset by increases in the gross running costs limits for the other two Departments.

The cash limit for class X, vote 9 (Sale of shares in the water services public limited companies, etc) will be increased by £0.300 million from £5.140 million to £5.440 million to cover increased costs of advisors.

The non-voted cash limit for the new towns (DOE/NTI) has been reduced by £90.257 million from minus £389.743 million to minus £480 million to take account of disposals of property which are higher than previously forecast. This reduction offsets the increases above which will therefore not add to the planned total of public expenditure.