asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if any changes will he made to the cash limits on his Department's Votes for 1985–86.
The cash limit on Class XIV, Vote 1 relating to expenditure by the Property Services Agency on Civil Accommodation Services will be reduced by £12,222,000 from £606,516,000 to £594,294,000. This is to compensate for an overspend of £12,222,000 in 1984–85 and follows the standard practice whereby an excess over the cash limit in one year is deducted from the cash limit in the next year. The excess occurred because rent and other receipts proved to have been overestimated and work progressed faster than expected so that offsetting shortfalls in gross expenditure did not materialise on the scale forecast. The agency is reviewing its forecasting and monitoring methods, particularly where receipts are concerned, in order to improve its cash limit control.