Cash and Running Cost Limits (Hansard, 1 February 1996)

§ Mr. Simon Coombs
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to change the 1995–96 cash limit for Ordnance Survey. [13399]

§ Sir Paul Beresford
Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary spring supplementary estimate for Ordnance Survey, class VII, vote 7, the cash limit will be increased by a token £1,000 from £16,984,000 to 841W £16,985,00, and the net running costs limit will be decreased by £918,000 from £13,465,000 to £12,547,000, reflecting an excess of increased running costs related receipts over increased gross running costs expenditure on the vote.

§ Dr. Twinn
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to change his Department's cash and running cost limits for 1995–96. [13544]

§ Mr. Gummer
Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the following cash limit changes will be made.
The cash limit for class VII, vote 1—housing and construction, England—covering sections B, C, D and G of that vote, will be decreased by £1,237,000 from £112,415,000 to £111,178,000. This change partially offsets the increased demand for tax relief grant which is administered by the Housing Corporation and is not cash limited.
The DOE/HC—Housing Corporation—cash limit will be increased by £51,000 from £1,149,038,000 to £1,149,089,000 through the take-up of entitlement to end year flexibility for capital spending on the approved development programme as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 13 July 1995, Official Report, column 776.
The cash limit for class VII, vote 2, RCW—regeneration and countryside and wildlife—will be increased by £581,000 from £1,520,799,000 to £1,521,380,000. The changes reflect the transfer of £833,000 from the Department of Trade and Industry to support the coalfield strategic fund for an extension to Dearne Valley college; a transfer to the Home Office of £75,000 to support three safer cities projects in Wales and a reduction of £177,000 to allow supplementary credit approvals to be issued in respect of English Partnerships from the RCW non-voted cash limit.
The non-voted cash limit for regeneration and countryside and wildlife will be increased by £758,000 from £1,503,516,000 to £1,504,274,000. The changes reflect the transfer of £833,000 from the Department of Trade and Industry to support the coalfield strategic fund for an extension to Dearne Valley college and a transfer of £75,000 to the Home Office to support three safer cities projects in Wales.
The cash limit for class VII, vote 3—environmental protection and water—covering sections A, B, C, D, F and G will be increased by £1,444,000. This change will cover increased grant in aid to the British Waterways Board and will be funded by take-up of part of the entitlement to capital end of year flexibility as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 13 July 1995, Official Report, column 776. There will be an increase of £1,640,000 in the external financing limit for the British Waterways Board, made up of £1,444,000 arising from the end of year flexibility entitlement shown above and a virement between sub-heads within the vote of £196,000.
The cash limit for class VII, vote 4—local government and planning, England—covering sections A to F of that vote, will be reduced by £300,000 from £30,087,110,000 to £30,086,810,000. This change is to allow savings due to lower than planned activity on section D—planning and 842W minerals research—to be transferred to class VII, vote 1—housing and construction, England and Energy Efficiency Office—to partially offset the increased demand for tax relief grant. The DOE/LGR—local government reorganisation—cash limit will be reduced by £11,140,000 from £76,696,000 to £65,556,000. This change reflects lower than anticipated applications from local authorities for supplementary credit approvals to offset the abatement and recovery of housing revenue account subsidy in respect of Greater London Council deemed debt.
The cash limit for class VII, vote 5—Administration—will be increased by £7,718,000 from £226,100,000 to £233,818,000. This change reflects the transfer of provision from Property Holdings to DOE of £5,481,000 for the relocation of the Department's headquarters, the take-up of £2,000,000 of end year flexibility entitlement for capital expenditure, as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 13 July 1995, Official Report, column 776, to cover the costs of faster than expected progress on the relocation project and various other small changes of responsibility between the Department and other parts of Government.
Overall, the Department's gross running cost limit will be reduced by £2,339,000 from £228,854,000 to £226,515,000. This reflects the capitalisation of the costs of early retirements and transfers of responsibility to other parts of Government.
Property Holdings' gross running cost limit will be increased by £212,000 from £19,863,000 to £20,075,000. The increase represents a transfer from DOE.
The Office of Water Services gross running cost limit will be increased by £170,000 from £8,539,000 to £8,709,000. This will not result in an increase in the cash limit.
All the increases will be offset either by savings, transfers from other Government Departments or charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.