§ Mr. Beaumont-DarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on cash and running cost limits for Northern Ireland departmental services and the Northern Ireland Office in 1990–91.
§ Dr. MawhinneySubject to parliamentary approval of the necessary associated supplementary estimates, it is proposed that the cash limit for the Northern Ireland Office (NIO1) will be increased by £16.5 million from £683.5 million to £700.0 million.
The cash limit for Northern Ireland departmental services (NID1) for 1990–91 will be decreased by £27.8 million from £2,949.3 million to £2,921.5 million. This change reflects increases in respect of VAT compensation (£1.9 million) and running costs carried over from 1989–90 under end-year flexibility arrangements (£2.2 million). It also reflects decreases in respect of transfers to the 664W Northern Ireland Office of some £16 million and technical changes of some £16 million, the majority of which were transfers to non cash-limited areas within Northern Ireland Departments.
The running cost limit for Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments will be increased by £3,818,000 from £592,597,000 to £596,415,000 primarily reflecting the take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement of £2,697,000, as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 25 July 1990, Official Report, column 235–40, and a transfer of £1,079,000 from the Department of Social Security in respect of services operated on an agency basis by the Departments of Health and Social Services. The revised running cost provision is £150,614,000 for the Northern Ireland Office and £445,801,000 for Northern Ireland Departments.