HC Deb 04 June 1992 vol 208 c627W
Mr. Bill Walker

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he intends to make any changes to the cash limits for 1992–93 within his responsibility.

Mr. Lang

Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, I intend to make changes to three cash limits:

  1. (a) The cash limit for class XV, vote 13: education, arts and libraries, Scotland, will be increased by £1,250,000 from £259,024,000 to £260,274,000. The increase in provision is required to fund further improvements to Hampden Park. This increase is offset by a reduction in the SO/LA2 cash block.
  2. (b) The cash limit for class XV, vote 20, revenue and rate support grants, Scotland will be increased by £47,700,000 from £3,458,500,000 to £3,506,200,000. £41,000,000 of this increase in provision will fund an additional reduction in non-domestic rates poundages as a further step in the Government's united business rates policy. The remaining £6,700,000 is an increase to local authorities in Scotland following an addition to the amounts being distributed to local authorities in England and Wales.
  3. (c) The cash limit for class XV, vote 25: hospital, community health, family health (part) and other health services, Scotland, will be increased by £10,800,000 from £2,590,645,000 to £2,601,445,000. The increase is required to provide £11,000,000 towards the costs of the pay awards recommended in the reports of the review bodies for nursing staff, midwives, health visitors and professions allied to medicine, and on doctors' and dentists' remuneration (Cm. 1811, 1812 and 1813) and £1,800,000 to cover the costs of a scheme of payments for patients who contracted HIV through blood or tissue transfer. The increases are partially offset by a reduction of £2,000,000 in respect of rephasing of health board banking arrangements.
  4. (d) In addition, the cash block SO/LA2, which covers net capital allocation to local authorities and new town net capital expenditure, will be reduced by £4,052,000 from £272,033,000 to £267,981,000. This will partly offset increases in other cash limits.

All the increases mentioned will be offset by savings or charged to the reserve and therefore will not increase the planned total of public expenditure.