H.M. TREASURY NEWS RELEASE

HM Treasury News Release

125/99

27 July 1999

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE 1998-99: PROVISIONAL OUTTURN

The Treasury today published the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 4416) showing provisional outturn for the Control Total in 1998-99 including information on individual Votes, cash limits, running cost limits and external finance limits for nationalised industries and other public corporations including trading funds. This will be the last such White Paper on this basis. For 1999-2000 onwards comparison of outturn will focus on the Departmental Expenditure Limits and other aggregates within Total Managed Expenditure operative from this year.

The overall position for 1998-99 shows provisional outturn for the Control Total of £272.575 billion - an underspend of £2,771 million (1.0%) against revised plans (i.e adjusted for classification changes and transfers).

Outturn for the other categories of expenditure covered by the White Paper are as follows:

Original Final £ million

provision/ provision/ Provisional limits | limits | outturn |

Voted expenditure | 215,178 | 219,028 | 211,980 |

Cash limits | 144,775 | 146,985 | 145,024 |

Non- voted cash limits | 8,744 | 8,859 | 8,562 |

Nationalised industries' EFLs | 531 | 602 | 311 |

Other public corporations' inc. trading funds' EFLs | 1,602 | 1,560 | 1,331 |

Running cost limits (gross) | 13,841 | 14,444 | 14,095 |

Running costs limits (net) | -1,074 | 7,615 | 4,461 |

MOD operating costs | 16,098 | 16,610 | 16,648 |

There were 2 overspends out of a total of 104 Votes; 2 breaches out of a total of 84 Voted cash limits; 1 breach out of a total of 30 non-voted cash limits; 1 breach out of a total of 52 departmental gross controlled running costs limits; no breaches out of a total of 22 net controlled limits; no breaches out of a total of 9 EFLs for nationalised industries and 1 out of 40 EFLs for other public corporations. Details of the procedures to follow in the case of breaches are given in the White Paper.

Note to Editors

1. Of the overall underspend, £700 million occurred on programmes now included within DEL. Departments can carry forward this underspend together with any unspent carryover from previous years under previous schemes, into 1999-2000. When departments draw down spending which has been carried forward in this way this is charged to the Reserve, and the total underspend on DEL programmes is being carried forward from 1998-99 into the 1999-2000 DEL Reserve for this purpose. Further details are available in the White Paper. General enquiries should be addressed to Treasury Press Office on 0171 270 5238. Questions on individual limits, including EFLs for nationalised industries and other public corporations, should be addressed to the Departments concerned.