§ Mr. PicklesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he proposes to his Department's cash limits and running costs limit for 1992–93.
§ Mr. HowardYes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:—
The DOE/UA non-voted cash limit will be increased by £1,020,000 from £1,017,449,000 to £1,018,469,000. The increase is a net effect of savings and increases within the cash limit. Increases include £6,000,000 for local authority sector derelict land grant to account for increases in the forecast level of spend and £1,750,000 for the urban programme. A further £3,020,000 will be required for various projects for urban development corporations, to fund a number of schemes for the Cleveland city action team and to increase the provision for urban development grant. There is a technical increase of £3,000,000 which will be offset by a decrease in the Department of Transport national roads England cash limit. Savings include £10,205,000 on the city grant programme, £1,000,000 for the non local authority sector derelict land grant programme and a technical saving of £1,545,000 which will be offset by an increase in the Housing Corporation cash limit. The effect on voted expenditure will be a net increase of £3,000,000.
The cash limit for class VIII, vote 5 (Central environmental services etc.) will be increased by £5,861,000 from £317,127,000 to £322,988,000. The increase provides for an additional £7,900,000 in grant in aid to the Rural Development Commission, required because of a shortfall in the commission's receipts from property sales. This will be partially offset by a saving of £1,439,000 on the energy efficiency programme, £200,000 on the environmental technology innovation scheme and £400,000 on grants to water companies. The cash limit increase will be funded in part by forecast savings of £1,500,000 in European regional development fund payments to water undertakers and £161,000 of previously unallocated public expenditure provision.
The running cost limit for Property Holdings and Central Support Services will be reduced by £668,000 from £48,201,000 to £47,533,000. This reduction reflects pay savings. The net running cost control limit for the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre will be reduced by £48,000 from £1,136,000 to £1,088,000. Some receipts which would have been paid into the Consolidated Fund will be reclassified as appropriations in aid. This reclassification will fund a freehold acquisitions programme, cover a shortfall of property disposal receipts and offset an increase in vacant accommodation costs.
The Department of the Environment's running costs limit has been reduced by £5,556,000 from £201,899,000 to £196,343,000. This change mainly results from a 246W reallocation of existing estimate provision between running costs and non-running costs, in line with estimated outturn, on class VIII, vote 8 (Department of the Environment: administration), partly offset by a transfer of £34,000 running costs cover to class VIII, vote 2 (Miscellaneous housing administration and grants).
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 £176,000 from £29,523,296,000 to £29,523,120,000. This is due to lower than expected computer costs for valuation tribunals and a transfer of provision to the Ministry of Defence (class I, vote 1) compensating local authorities for community charge income foregone from servicemen as a result of the Gulf crisis. £71,000 of the savings offset an equivalent increase on class VIII, vote 13, for the new grant to compensate local authorities for additional costs arising from the influx of people displaced from former Yugoslavia.
The DOE/HC non-voted cash limit will be increased by £598,545,000 from £1,707,200,000 to £2,305,745,000. This increase reflects the addition of £597,000,000 mainly for housing associations to purchase empty dwellings as part of the housing recovery package announced in the Chancellor's autumn statement, and a transfer from the city challenge programme of £1,545,000 to increase housing association funding in city challenge areas.
The DOE/LACAP non-voted cash limit will be increased by £28,259,000 from £2,914,829,000 to £2,943,088,000. This increase reflects the addition of £30,000,000 for local authority cash incentive schemes as part of the housing recovery package announced in the Chancellor's autumn statement. This is partly offset by savings of £1,741,000 in other grants within the cash limit.
All the increases will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.