HC Deb 05 June 1996 vol 278 cc453-5W
Mr. Dover

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to change his Department's cash and running costs limits for 1996–97. [31802]

Mr. Gummer

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary revised and summer supplementary estimates, the following cash limit changes will be made.

The cash limit for class VI, vote 1—housing and construction, England—covering sections A, D to G and J to L of that vote, will be decreased by £10,950,000 from £341,518,000 to £330,568,000. This change reflects transfers of £2,000,000 to provide for a new asylum seekers' special housing grant which will not be cash limited; £5,200,000 to class VI, vote 2—regeneration, countryside and wildlife—and a transfer of £4,300,000 within the rough sleepers initiative from current to capital expenditure, the latter of which falls within the DOE/HC non-voted cash limit. The decreases are partially offset by an increase of £550,000 in Housing Corporation administration provision.

The DOE/HC—Housing Corporation—cash limit will be increased by £4,300,000 from £1,030,199,000 to £1,034,499,000 because of the transfer of provision for the rough sleepers initiative from current to capital expenditure.

The cash limit for class VI, vote 2—regeneration, countryside and wildlife—will be increased by £6,656,000 from £1,452,787,00 to £1,459,443,000. This reflects a transfer of £5,200,000 from class VI, vote 1—housing and construction—to the Docklands light railway and the London docklands development corporation to cover repair costs following the bombing at south quay in February 1996. An increase of £1,456,000 is also required to pay European regional development fund claims not accepted for payment by the European Community. The increase will be met by a transfer from the DOE/ERDF non-voted cash limit and will therefore not add to the planned control total of public expenditure.

The DOE/RCW—regeneration, countryside and wildlife—non-voted cash limit will also be increased by £6,656,000 from £1,434,387,000 to £1,441,043,000 for the reasons given in paragraph 4.

The DOE/ERDF—European regional development fund—non-voted cash limit will be reduced by £1,440,000 from £184,222,000 to £182,782,000. This reflects a transfer of £16,000 from the Department of Health for the St. Gabriel's church scheme and a transfer of £1,456,000 to DOE/RCW for the new ERDF sections to cover gross payments in place of European Community receipts.

The external financing limit for urban development corporations will be increased by £5,200,000 to £207,050,000 to cover repair costs for Docklands light railway and London docklands development corporation following the bombing at south quays. The external financing limit for the Urban Regeneration Agency, English Partnerships, will be increased by £13,652,000 for provision for current spending which was incorrectly omitted from the introduction to the 1996–97 supply estimates.

The cash limit for class VI, vote 4—local government and planning, England—covering sections A to F of that vote, will be reduced by £80,000 from £31,128,167,000 to £31,128,087,000 to reflect reductions in the payments made to the Valuation Office Agency in section A valuation services. The savings will be used within vote 4, to cover a payment in South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority under the Bellwin scheme in section H, other grants, which is outside the cash limit on the vote.

All the increases will be offset either by savings or transfers from other Government Departments and will not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.