§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 1 December (WA 5) concerning underspending by the Northern Ireland Departments for 2003–04, why the Department of Social Development underspent by £31.4 million in that period. [HL324]
§ Baroness AmosThe figure of £31.4 million relates to the underspend position based on provisional information provided by the department. Details of underspend are set out in the following table. In some cases projects cost less than anticipated; in others expenditure has slipped to the following year.
103WA
Underspend (£m) Explanation Resource £15.5 million 1 Slippage in social security welfare reform and modernisation programme and lower than expected IT costs in current year 2 Delays in implementation of child support reforms due to the new UK wide IT systems not working properly 3 Non-completion os several NIHE special purchase of evacuated dwellings (SPED) acquisitions which were expected to be completed in 2003–04 4 Spend on NIHE supporting people programme, which is a new scheme that commenced in April 2003, less than anticipated 5 Delays in uptake in the urban regeneration and community development grant aid by applicants who had anticipated incurring expenditure in financial year 6 Delays in commencement and uptake of grant in relation to EU community initiatives such as Interreg III and Urban II 7 Non-cash costs i.e. depreciation, cost of capital, less than anticipated Investment £15.9 million 1 Slippage in social security welfare reform and modernisation programme and lower than expected IT costs in current year 2 Spend less than estimate due to slippage in the commencement and completion of schemes by housing associations. The later a scheme commences in the year means less spend incurred in current year with cost shifted to future years
Underspend (£m) Explanation 3 Delays in uptake in Urban Regeneration and Community Development grant aid by applicants who had anticipated incurring expenditure in financial year