Mr. Andy StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether there have been any changes to the cash limits or running costs limit of his Department for 1989–90.
§ Mr. ScottSubject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for class XV, vote 6 (Housing Benefit Administration) will be increased by £312,000 from £128,592,000 to £128,904,000. The revision provides for an additional payment to a local authority in Scotland towards the costs incurred in preparing for the introduction of the community charge rebate scheme.
Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for class XV, vote 7 (Administration and Miscellaneous Services) will be increased by £3,226,000 from £1,578,122,000 to £1,581,348,000. The revision takes account of a reassessment of requirements resulting from the division of the Departments of Social Security and of Health, namely £220,000, a transfer of responsibility for certain expenditure items previously borne on class XIV, vote 3, £3,257,000, a transfer of £5,873,000 from DE (class VII, vote 2) to meet additional DSS administration expenses in making payments to employment training and youth training scheme participants, and a transfer to DE of £244,000 to reflect a change in responsibility for accommodation costs at Reading and Livingston. These additional requirements are partially offset by an increase in receipts of £5,880,000 to the vote. The balance of the increase will he offset by transfers from other votes and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
As a result the running cost limit of the Department of Social Security is increased by £6,566,000 from £1,705,319,000 to £1,711,885,000.