§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has to change the cash limits or running costs limit of his Department for 1992–93.
§ Mr. ScottSubject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XIV, vote 3 (housing benefit administration, payments into the social fund in respect of discretionary expenditure and other grants) will be increased by £4,250,000 from £365,972,000 to £370,222,000. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 4 (administration and miscellaneous services) will be increased by £1,922,000 from £2,270,076,000 to £2,271,998,000.
The revision for vote 3 takes account of a grant to make repayable sums available to pension funds linked to the former companies of Robert Maxwell to assist in the payment of pensions (£2,500,000) and subsidies to housing and local authorities toward the costs of administering the housing benefit scheme and to charging and levying authorities towards the costs of administering the community charge benefit scheme (£1,750,000).
Vote 4 revisions take account of the additional administrative expenditure arising from higher unemployment (£9,472,000), of which £6,496,000 is running costs, an increase of £16,528,000 (of which £10,795,000 is running costs) in respect of end year flexibility arrangements, a transfer from Department of the Environment (property holdings and central support services): civil accommodation and administration etc., class VIII, vote 7 of £2,015,000 (running costs) an increase of £60,000 towards the administration costs of the Maxwell Pensioners Trust, a transfer from Department of Health and Social Security (Northern Ireland) vote 3 of £437,000 (running costs) a transfer to Department of Employment: programmes and central services, class VI, vote 1 of £58,000 (running costs) and a reduction of £35,000 following the transfer of responsibility for the departmental records officer to the Department of Health. The additional requirements are partially offset by an increase in receipts of £26,497,000 and the balance (£1,922,000) totally represents transfers from other Departments.
In addition to the running costs changes included above there is also a reduction of £2,906,000 to take account of expenditure previously classified running costs now being reclassified as capital and other current.
As a result of these changes the running costs limit of the Department of Social Security will be increased by £16,779,000 from £2,521,125,000 to £2,537,904,000.
All these increases are within the forecast outturn for the planning total included in the Chancellor's autumn statement today.