§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes are planned to the cash limits and running costs limits for the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for 1992–93.
§ Mr. SackvilleSubject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XIII, vote 6 (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys) will be increased by £889,000 from £37,057,000 to £37,946,000 and the running costs limit for OPCS will be increased by £1,568,000 from £46,002,000 to £47,570,000. This reflects the take-up of £504,000 under the end year flexibility arrangements for running costs as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 15 July 1992, at columns697–702; an increase in running costs provision of £207,000 in respect of a transfer of funds from Property Holdings; and increased running costs provision of £300,000 for work on problems connected with census outputs and increased staff costs which will be partly offset by a decrease in capital provision of £122,000. The increases not offset will be charged to the reserve and will therefore not add to the planned total of public expenditure.
The following increases will also affect the running costs limit; £232,000 in the National Health Central Register area for work on the Department of Health's National Health Service number programme and additional research work; £325,000 for the work of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission. There will also be increases in capital provision of £25,000 for the National Health Central Register and £66,000 for the Parliamentary Boundary Commission. These increases will be offset by an increase in appropriations in aid on the OPCS vote and met from within the existing resources of the Department of Health (class XIII, vote 3) and the Home Office (class IX, vote 3) and will therefore not add to the planned total of public expenditure.