asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the definition of the term "negative reserves" as used in his statement on the outcome of the February Budget Council, Official Report, 17 February, column 542.

A negative reserve is a provision in the Reserve Chapter 100 for unspecified reductions in expenditure elsewhere in the Budget. It involves the Commission proposing transfers from this reserve on to substantive budget lines during the budgetary year, thereby cancelling equivalent amounts of unused expenditure.