To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the savings planned in his departmental budget for (a) 1997–98 and (b) 1998–99 in order to allow for the higher than planned expenditure on the Prison Service announced in his statement of 24 July; and if he will make a statement. [11518]

It is too early for me to be able to identify the savings in the Home Office budget which might cover the extra spending on the Prison Service. For both 1997–98 and 1998–99, I will be looking rigorously at my whole programme to find offsetting savings. I expect this process to take several months.