HC Deb 04 June 1991 vol 192 cc184-5W
Mr. Stevens

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether any changes will be made to the cash limits or running costs limits for 1991–92 within the employment group.

Mr. Jackson

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

The cash limit for class VI, vote 1 (programmes and central services) will be increased by £90,392,000 from £2,266,849,000 to £2,357,241,000. The increase is the net result of an increase of £105,000,000 for employment training in England and Wales which was announced to the House on 26 February (partly offset by increased receipts of £8,408,000 from the Welsh Office, class XVI, vote 4); a transfer of £4,500,000 to class VI, vote 3 for offshore safety; a transfer of £ 1,186,000 to the Ministry of Defence class I, vote 1 for payments to participants in their youth training scheme and a transfer of £514,000 to the Employment Service, class VI, vote 2 to reflect the transfer of certain responsibilities for common services and telecommunications.

The cash limit for class VI, vote 2 (Employment Service) will be increased by £17,514,000 from £436,335,000 to £453,849,000. The increase is the net result of an increase of £55,000,000 for the increased costs of the administration of unemployment benefit and associated payments (offset by increased receipts of £38,000,000 from the Department of Social Security, class XIV, vote 4) and additional provision to help unemployed people, including extra counselling and jobsearch seminars, and a transfer of provision of £514,000 from class VI, vote 1 to cover certain common service responsibilities.

The cash limit for class VI, vote 3 (Health and Safety Commission and Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), will be increased by £18,071,000 from £160,735,000 to £178,806,000. The increase reflects the transfer of the offshore safety function to the Health and Safety Executive and is the net result of a transfer of £12,549,000 from the Department of Energy, class V, votes 2 and 3 (partly offset by increased associated receipts of £353,000); a transfer of £4,500,000 from class VI vote 1; a transfer of £300,000 from the Department of Transport, class VIII, vote 2 (More than offset by increased associated receipts of £325,000); and increased provision of £1,046,000 to cover superannuation payments for offshore safety staff (fully offset by increased receipts to the civil superannuation vote).

The single running cost limit for the Department of Employment (class VI votes 1 and 2) will be increased by £55,000,000 from £1,002,699,000 to £1,057,699,000.

The running cost limit for the Health and Safety Commission (class VI vote 3) will increase by £11,129,000 from £121,957,000 to £133,086,000.

These increases will be charged to the reserve and therefore will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.