HL Deb 11 February 1999 vol 597 cc41-3WA
Lord Hughes of Woodside asked

Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will publish changes to the 1998–99 cash and running cost limits within the responsibilities of the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates, the cash limit for Class VII, Vote 1 (Home Office administration, police probation, immigration and other services, England and Wales) will be increased by £11, 258, 000 from £4, 833, 790, 000 to £4, 845, 048, 000, the cash limit for Class VII, Vote 2 (Prisons, England and Wales) will be increased by £119, 310, 000 from £1, 703, 670, 000 to £1, 822, 980, 000, and the running costs limit will be increased by £49, 311, 000 from £1, 887, 431, 000 to £1, 936, 742, 000.

The changes in the Vote 1 cash limit are the net effect of the following transfers: £91, 000 from the Lord Chancellor's Department, Class VIII, Vote 1, £66, 000 from the Crown Prosecution Service, Class VIII, Vote 4 and £32, 000 from the Prison Service, Class VII, Vote 2in respect of contributions for the Integrated Business and Information Systems; £27, 000 from the Prison Service, Class VII Vote 2 in respect of contributions for the Integrated Business and Information Systems; £27, 000 the Prison Service, Class VII Vote 2 in respect of the provision of internet services and contributions to the Prison/Probation Pilot Mentoring Project; £25, 000 to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Class II, Vote 1 in respect of contributions to the United Kingdom Special Representatives for International Drugs issues; £570, 000 to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Class II, Vote 2, in respect of interdepartmental drugs prevention projects in Colombia and Pakistan; £84, 000 from the Northern Ireland Office, Class XV Vote 1, in respect of the Criminal Cases Review Commission; £26, 000 to the Lord Chancellor's Department, Class VIII, Vote 1 and £7, 000 to Treasury Solicitors, Class VIII, Vote 6, in respect of extending the Attorney General's powers for referring unduly lenient sentences to the Court of Appeal; £1, 251, 000 to the Prison Service, Class VII, Vote 2 in relation to the transfer of responsibility for Boards of Visitors; £10, 000 from the Department of Trade and Industry, Class V, Vote 1 for start up costs of the Telecom and Data Protection Directive; and £647, 000 from Her Majesty's Treasury Consolidated Fund Standing Service for advance training costs for implementation of the European Elections Bill. The Supplementary Estimate will also provide for increases of £6, 080, 000 in respect of home detention curfew, £3, 800, 000 in respect of compensation for miscarriages of justice and £2, 300, 000 in respect of the National Identification Service.

The changes in the Vote 2 cash limit are the net effect of transfers to Vote 1 of £59, 000 in respect of the provision of internet services, contribution for the Integrated Business and Information Systems and contributions to the Prison/Probation Pilot Mentoring project and a transfer from Vote 1 of £1, 251, 000 in relation to the transfer of responsibility for Boards of Visitors. The Supplementary Estimate will also provide for increases of £111, 855, 000 for increases in prison capacity, repairs to the prison estate and increased funding for regime activities to keep prisoners constructively occupied; £2, 000, 000 for work within prisons on the implementation of home detention curfew arrangements; and £13, 263, 000 to adjust the accounting treatment of Value Added Tax refunds on contracted-out services offset by increased receipt of £9, 000, 000 due to acceleration in the programme for the sale of staff housing.

The increase in the running costs limit is the net effect of payments from the Lord Chancellor's Department of £91, 000 and the Crown Prosecution Service of £66, 000 for the Integrated Business and Information Systems; payment of £25, 000 to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the United Kingdom Special Representative for International Drugs issues; payments of £26, 000 to the Lord Chancellor's Department and £7, 000 to the Treasury Solicitor in respect of extending the Attorney General's powers for referring unduly lenient sentences to the Court of Appeal: £460, 000 reclassified from capital provision; increases of £10, 000 for costs of the Edwards Report, £2, 580, 000 for home detention curfew; £31, 781, 000 for increasing prison capacity, repairs and increased funding for regime activities, £118, 000 in connection with transitional arrangements for a private finance initiative for the provision of heat energy to prisons, and £13, 263, 000 to adjust the accounting treatment of Value Added Tax refunds on contracted-out services.

These increases will add £118, 118, 000 to the planned total of public expenditure.