HC Deb 13 January 2003 vol 397 c424W
Mr. Donaldson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the extent of underspend in the Northern Ireland Departments; and what action has been taken to deal with this. [88844]

Mr. Pearson

In his statement to the NI Assembly on 1 July 2002, the then Minister of Finance and Personnel set out details of the underspend for 2001–02, and his plans to address the issue in future years. The spending plans for 2003–04 to 2005–06, announced on 11 December 2002, build on the approach established at that time—full details are set out in Section 2 of the Budget Document ("Building on Progress: Budget 2003–06").

Information on the extent of any underspend for 2002–03 will be available in late June 2003.