§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the change in the cost of capital charges from 1999–01 to 2001–04. [24730]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyThe treatment of capital charges has altered during this period with the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting.
For my Department, the cost of capital arises essentially from the headquarters building (Gwydyr House) and its contents. Gwydyr House was professionally valued on 31 March 2000 and under current accounting policies is due to have professional revaluations every five years.
The cost of capital charge is applied to average net assets of a department over a financial year and is charged at 6 per cent, which is the Treasury's discounted rate.