HC Deb 01 February 1991 vol 184 cc641-2W
Mr. Gill

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any changes to announce to cash limits on votes within his responsibility for 1990–91; and whether there are any proposals to amend his Department's running cost limit for 1990–91.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

Subject to parliamentary approval to the necessary supplementary estimates, the cash limits for class XI, vote 1, schools, research and miscellaneous services, and class XI, vote 2, higher and further education will be amended. The Department's running cost limit on class XI, vote 4 will also be increased. The cash limit changes are as follows:

Class and vote Current cash limit £ Change £ Revised cash limit £
XI.1 657,650,000 -1,500,000 656,150,000
XI.2 3,115,983,000 +1,500,000 3,117,483,000

The decrease on class XI, vote 1 results from slippage of certain projects in connection with research, development and implementation of the national curriculum. The token supplementary estimate also takes account of a transfer of provision for grant-in-aid to the Sports Council from the Department of the Environment to my Department.

The increase on class XI, vote 2 is needed to offset reduced receipts to be appropriated in aid of the vote from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man for students attending higher education institutions in the United Kingdom; from the sale of property owned by the Royal College of Art to be reinvested in the college's redevelopment scheme; and from a decline in the proportion of Open university students from Northern Ireland. It also provides additional recurrent funds for the Royal College of Art to pay the rent on temporary accommodation for the school of painting following its move from a building owned by the Victoria and Albert museum.

My Department's running cost limit will be increased by £193,000 from £80,686,000 to £80,879,000.

These changes are within the forecast outturn for the planning total published today in the statistical supplement to the 1990 autumn statement.