HC Deb 01 February 1991 vol 184 cc659-61W
Mr. Favell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if there are any proposals to change the 1990–91 running costs limit for Ordnance Survey.

Mr. Baldry

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary token spring supplementary estimate, the running costs limit for Ordnance Survey will be increased by £650,000 from £57,193,000 to £57,843,000. The increase is needed to fund additional expenditure in a number of areas.

Miss Emma Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any changes to announce to his Department's cash limits and running costs limits for 1990–91.

Mr. Heseltine

Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:

  1. (i) The cash limit for class VIII, vote 5 (central environmental services, etc.) will be reduced by £145,000 from £366,400,000 to £366,255,000. There will be a corresponding increase on class VIII, vote 8 (Department of the Environment: administration) to provide for administrative expenditure incurred in setting up the Nature Conservancy Council (England).
  2. (ii) The cash limit for class VIII, vote 8 (Department of the Environment: administration) will be increased by £52,000 from £157,750,000 to £157,802,000. This includes a transfer of £145,000 from class VIII, vote 5 (central environmental services) for expenditure incurred in setting up the Nature Conservancy Council (England). A transfer of £13,000 is being made to the Department of Transport to support a review of first aid arrangements. Further income of £80,000 will accrue to the Building Research Establishment as a result of Property Holdings being charged the full economic cost of services provided to it.
  3. (iii) The cash limit for class VIII, vote 2 (miscellaneous housing administration and grants) will be reduced by £1,000,000 from £110,217,000 to £109,217,000, to reflect a reduction in the level of claims by local authorities for reimbursement of costs incurred on the rent officer service, and a small reduction to the provision for grants for tenant participation schemes.
  4. (iv) The non-voted cash limit for DOE/UA (urban aid and derelict land reclamation) will be increased by £3,675,000 from £904,666,000 to £908,341,000. This is to cover increased grant-in-aid of £3,675,000 to the Bristol development corporation for land acquisitions in connection with the Bristol spine road. This will be offset by a corresponding reduction in the Department of Transport's cash limit for class VII, vote 1. Teesside development corporation will receive further provision of £4,800,000 fully offset by a corresponding decrease in grant-in-aid to Trafford Park development corporation. The provision for the city grant has also been increased by £1,122,000 to meet the higher-than-expected level of claims. There are offsetting savings of £500,000 from the recovery of derelict land grant and £622,000 from a reduction in expected claims for urban development grant.
  5. (v) The non-voted cash limit for DOE/LACAP (local authority capital grants and credit approvals) will be reduced by £27,890,000 from £2,813,060,000 to £2,785,170,000. This provides offsetting savings for spending on specified housing grants not at present included in the cash limit, a transfer of resources to the Department of Social Security and to cover an increase in new towns housing subsidy.
  6. (vi) the running costs limit for the Department of the Environment will be reduced by £13,000 from £157,754,000 to £157,741,000.
  7. (vii) These changes are within the forecast outturn for the planning total published today in the statistical supplement to the 1990 autumn statement.

Sir Michael Neubert

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he proposes to make any changes to the cash limit on the Property Services Agency services vote in 1990–91.

Mr. Yeo

Yes, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VIII, vote 13 will be increased by £15,548,000 from £29,658,000 to £45,206,000. This increase is required to finance additional expenditure on severance payments to surplus staff as a result of the restructuring of PSA Services into a viable commercial proposition, and to finance additional and unforseen expenditure on the dilapidation costs relating to the early surrender of a leased property no longer required for use by Government Departments. The increase is within the forecast outturn for the planning total published today in the statistical supplement to the autumn statement.