HC Deb 04 February 2000 vol 343 c754W
Mr. Purchase

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes are proposed to the departmental expenditure limit and running costs limit for his Department for 1999–2000. [108812]

Mr. Nick Brown

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be increased by £17,576,000 from £1,225,308,000 to £1,242,884,000. The increase is the net effect of:

  1. (i) an Intervention Board running cost and capital End-Year Flexibility take-up of £747,000 and £157,000 respectively,
  2. (ii) a transfer of £93,000 to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR),
  3. (iii) a transfer of £46,000 from the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD),
  4. (iv) a transfer of £8,000 from the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland (DANI),
  5. (v) a transfer of £138,000 from the Department of Health (DoH).
  6. (vi) a transfer of £107,000 the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR),
  7. (vii) transfers of £1,491,000 from DoH, £497,000 from SERAD, £260,000 from the National Assembly for Wales Agriculture Department (NAWAD and, £249,000 from DANI, for the cost of the BSE Inquiry,
  8. (viii) an increase of £5,500,000 in capital for the Rural Development scheme,
  9. (ix) an increase of £6,500,000 in running costs to cover a shortfall in the income of the Meat Hygiene Service,
  10. (x) an increase of £2,790,000 as the DEL element of additional funds for the Organic Aid scheme,
  11. (xi) an increase of £79,000 provision and £134,000 receipts under the Phare Twinning scheme,
  12. (xii) increase in provision and receipts of £15,162,000 in additional VAT recoveries,
  13. (xiv) increase in provision of £1,103,000 and £1,869,000 in receipts under the Wider Markets initiative.

Also the Voted element of the DEL will be increased by £3,691,000 to reflect a matching reduction in the non-Voted element. And the Gross Running Costs limit for the Intervention Board will be increased by £747,000, and for MAFF by £6,720,000.

The increase will be offset by transfers or charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.