Cash Limits

HC Deb 31 January 1997 vol 289 cc411-2W

Mr. Richards

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes he is proposing to make to the cash limits for his Department and the office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales for the current year. [14256]

Mr. Hague

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the cash limit on class XIV, vote 2 will be reduced by £9,533,000 from £704,178,000 to £694,645,000; the cash limit on class XIV, vote 3 will be increased by £15,000,000 from £524,870,000 to £539,870,000; the cash limit on class XIV, vote 4 will be increased by £139,000 from £1,910,125,000 to £1,910,264,000 and the cash limit on class XIV, vote 6 will be reduced by £625,000 from £9,789,000 to £9,164,000.

The Department's running cost limit will be increased by £70,000 from £75,178,000 to £75,248,000 to cover the costs associated with the sale of the Housing for Wales Loan Book.

The cash limit reduction on vote 2 results from a technical transfer of resources from the cash limited budget of the Further Education Funding Council into the demand-led Further Education Funding Council budget, to cover the costs associated with an increase in student numbers. In addition, there has been a virement of £290,000 from the central government grants to local authorities, in respect of the provision of vocational qualifications at West Cardiff Collegium.

The cash limit increase on vote 3 allows for additional spending on the central government roads programme. This additional expenditure is being covered mainly from underspends in previous years on the provision for the European regional development fund.

The cash limit increase on vote 4 results from transfers of £129,000 from class XVIII, vote 4 in respect of underspends by the Health Commissioner's officer and £10,000 from class VII, vote 1 in respect of the Department's share of seized drugs assets. A further increase of £5,000,000 as a result of end-year flexibility take-up for the all-Wales capital programme, has been offset by a transfer of £5,000,000 from the cash limited general practitioner fundholders' drugs provision to the non-cash limited pharmaceutical provision.

The cash limit decrease on vote 6 results from lower than expected expenditure on inspections of nursery places.

None of the above changes will add to the planned total of public expenditure.