Assets Recovery Agency: Northern Ireland

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library figures to show how much of (a) the total resource budget, (b) the total capital budget and (c) total public spending by the Assets Recovery Agency in each year since 2003-04 relates to the work of the agency in Northern Ireland. (141574)

[holding answer 11 June 2007]: The information available is set out in the tables. The information in the tables on the operating costs of the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) in Northern Ireland in 2005-06 varies slightly from that provided in my written answer of 24 January 2007, Official Report, column 1823W, to the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr. Campbell). The revised figures are the result of a more appropriate reapportionment of associated overhead costs between the London and Belfast offices.

I am placing this information in the Library of the House.

*Table 1: ARA, breakdown of Northern Ireland costs*
	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Total resource budget—ARA¹	11,007,634.40	14,017,940.12	22,¹686,313.43
Asset recoveries applied against receivers’ fees—ARA	0.00	0.00	-6,190,696.56
Net operating costs—ARA	11,007,634.40	14,017,940.12	16,495,616.87

Total of resource budget—NI	2,438,693.22	3,667,630.56	7,745,789.72
Asset recoveries applied against receivers’ fees—NI	0.00	0.00	-3,020,370.94
Net operating costs—NI	2,438,693.22	3,667,630.56	^A4,725,418.78

Total of resource budget—GB	8,568,941.18	10,350,309.56	14,940,523.70
Asset recoveries applied against receivers’ fees—GB	0.00	0.00	-3,170,325.62
Net operating costs—GB	8,568,941.18	10,350,309.56	11,770,198.08
¹ the total resource budget figure excludes recovered assets applied against receivers’ fees, as this funding does not come from the public purse. All other income is netted off against total resource budget, including training income despite not being obtained from public purse. This latter amount is not included due to its relative immateriality.

*Table 2*
	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Total capital budget—ARA	1,073,729.67	100,826.34	473,068.65
Total of capital budget—NI	393,853.70	81,883.49	^B325,815.53
Total capital budget—GB	679,875.97	18,942.85	147,253.12
Note: The proportion of capital expensed in the relevant year (depreciation) has already been included in the net operating costs figures. Therefore, the capital figures should only be used as memorandum figures to the net operating costs.

*Table 3*
	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Total public spending per year, including capital—NI only	2,832,546.91	3,749,514.05	^A+B5,051,234.31
Note: Total public spending includes net operating costs and capital. The net operating costs include certain non-cash costs, such as depreciation.

Volume 461: debated on Tuesday 12 June 2007