HC Deb 02 February 1995 vol 253 c759W
Mr. Gale

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent changes have been made and what future changes are planned to his Department's cash and running costs limits for 1994–95.

Mr. Ian Taylor

The cash limit for class IV, vote 1—support for business, consumer and investor protection, energy programmes and administration—has been reduced by £710,000 from £1,185,602,001) to £1,184,892,000. This reduction results from the transfer of responsibility for consultancy initiatives to the Scottish—£400,000—and Welsh—£310,000 —Offices for their respective territories.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the same vote will be increased by a token £1,000 to £1,184,893,000.

The gross running cost limit for the Department of Trade and Industry will be reduced by £2,758,000 from £342,217,000 to £339,459,000. This reduction will be offset by an increase of £2,759,000 to cover the expected shortfalls against the Department's research laboratories' original net voted provisions.

In addition, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IV, vote 4—privatisation of the coal industry—will be increased by £2,000,000 from £15,897,000 to £17,897,000. The increase mainly covers additional costs of privatisation advisers' fees.