§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes to the 1995–96 cash limits within his responsibilities. [40680]
§ Mr. HowardSubject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VIII, vote 1 (Home Office administration, police, probation and other services, England and Wales) will be increased by £3,419,000 from £4,436,657,000 to £4,440,076,000. The increase is the net effect of: a transfer £38,000—running costs—from the Department of Environment in respect of section 11 grant administration; a transfer of £250,000 from the Welsh Office in respect of expenditure related to police force reorganisation in the Rhymney valley; a reduction of £1,160,000 in the local authority non-voted HO/LACAP cash limit from £116,333,000 to £115,265,000 for the development of the national probation service information systems strategy and police information technology; a transfer from offender programmes of £275,000 to the Department for Educationa and Employment and Welsh Office in respect of additional cost of places for Home Office sponsored students; a transfer from equal opportunities and general of £4,000—running costs—to the Department of Environment in respect of transfer of responsibility for countryside byelaws; the take-up of £250,000 from the reserve—running costs—for special constables; and the take up of £2,000,000 from the reserve for temporary protection for war victims from former Yugoslavia. There is also a diminution of police and probation capital grants by £1,740,000.
In consequence of these changes, the Home Office gross running cost limit will increased by £284,000 from £1,740,331,000 to £1,740,615,000.
The increase will be offset by savings, transfers or charges to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.