HC Deb 12 November 1992 vol 213 cc958-9W
Mr. Anthony Coombs

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to change his Department's cash limits and running costs limit for 1992–93.

Mr. Howard

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

  1. (i) the cash limit for class VIII, vote 2 (miscellaneous housing administration and grants) will be reduced by £11,090,000 from £285,894,000 to £274,804,000. This decrease reflects a reduced requirement for expenditure on Housing Action Trusts (HATs) as a result of delays in the programmes for the four prospective HATs (Liverpool, Birmingham, Brent and Tower Hamlets) and slippage and economies in the programmes of the two established HATs (North Hull and Waltham Forest).
  2. (ii) the cash limit for class VIII, vote 5 (central environmental services etc.) will be increased by £1,855,000 from £315,272,000 to £317,127,000. The increase includes provision for the new UK Ecolabelling Board; additional grant-in-aid to the Countryside Commission resulting from the partial take up of the end year flexibility entitlement, as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 15 July 1992 (Official Report, columns 698–702); additional grant-in-aid to English Nature; increased expenditure on international contributions; and increased grant for water supply and sewerage in assisted areas. These increases are partially offset by reductions made elsewhere on the vote. The cash limit change also reflects certain other minor adjustments to subheads within the Vote and makes provision for transfers to class VIII, vote 4 and the Overseas Development Administration to fund African elephant conservation projects.
  3. (iii) the cash limit for class VIII, vote 8 (Department of the Environment: administration) will be reduced by £600,000 from £211,622,000 to £211,022,000 and the Department's running costs limit will be increased by £283,000 from £201,616,000 to £201,899,000. The changes include various inter departmental transfers; the start-up costs of the relocation unit which is being funded from within existing provision; savings resulting from the dissolution of the Local Government Boundary Commission and reduced receipts from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution. It is the Department's intention to seek Parliamentary approval for these changes in a spring Supplementary Estimate for class VIII, vote 8.
  4. (iv) the cash limit for class VIII, vote 9 (revenue support grant, payment of non-domestic rates, valuation office rating services, etc., England) will be decreased by £7,037,000 from £29,530,333,000 to £29,523,296,000. The decrease reflects a change in the timing of payments of the council tax preparation grant; 66 per cent. will now be paid in 1992–93 with the balance paid in 1993–94.
  5. (v) The DoE/UA non-voted cash limit will be increased by £28,354,000 from £989,095,000 to £1,017,449,000. This includes an increase of £12,100,000 for Olympic preparations; it also includes increased grant-in-aid of £15,555,000 to the London Docklands development corporation for work on extensions to the Docklands light railway and associated administration costs. This will he offset in part by a reduction of £1,900,000 in the 959 Department of Transport's cash limit for class VII, vote 2. A further £14,190,000 is required for the Bristol spine road, land purchase in Leeds, reclamation and workspace provision in Merseyside and to increase the resources for local authority sector derelict land grant. £3,800,000 is being made available for assistance following colliery closures. There have been savings of £11,391,000 from city grant and derelict land grant as well as a £4,000,000 increase in derelict land grant receipts.
  6. (vi) the Doe/HC non-voted cash limit will be increased by £700,000 from £1,706,500,000 to £1,707,200,000. This increase results from the full take-up of end year flexibility entitlement as announced by the Chief Secretary on 15 July 1992 (Official Report, cols 698–702).
  7. (vii) the DoE/LACAP non-voted cash limit will be increased by £6,540,000 from £2,908,289,000 to £2,914,829,000. This increase reflects the transfer to the Estate Action programme of £6,294,000 of the savings on Housing Action Trusts; £1,403,000 full take-up of end year flexibility entitlement as announced by the Chief Secretary on 15 July 1992 (Official Report. cols. 698–702); and an increase of £310,000 in estate action grant. It also reflects savings of £1,467,000 in the revenue element of slum clearance and renovation grants.
  8. (viii) the DoE/OES non-voted cash limit will be reduced by £40,117,000 from £149,133,000 to 109,016,000. The reduction reflects lower than expected take-up by local authorities of supplementary credit approvals for certain waste initiatives and takes account of an increase in payments on class VIII, vote 4.
  9. (ix) the national loans fund cash limit for housing action trusts (HATs) will be reduced by £2,004,000 from £2,004,000 to zero. This decrease reflects a reduced requirement on HATs as a result of delays in the programmes for the four prospective HATs (Liverpool, Birmingham, Brent and Tower Hamlets) and slippage and economies in the programmes of the two established HATs (North Hull and Waltham Forest).

These changes are reflected in the forecast outturn for the planning total included in the Chancellor's autumn statement today.