Skip to main content

Department of Health: Departmental Expenditure Limit

Volume 687: debated on Tuesday 21 November 2006

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health (Patricia Hewitt) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Subject to the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department of Health's element of the departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £5,418,000 from £87,170,719,000 to £87,176,137,000 of which the administration cost limit will be increased by £375,000 from £226,944,000 to £227,319,000. The Food Standards Agency DEL will be increased by £715,000 from £144,132,000 to £144,847,000. The overall DEL including the Food Standards Agency will be increased by £6,133,000 from £87,314,851,000 to £87,320,984,000. The impact on resource and capital are set out in the following table.

ChangeNew DEL

Voted

Non-voted

Voted

Non-voted

Total

Department of Health

£ million

£ million

£ million

£ million

£ million

Resource DEL

222.545

-204.127

81,130.325

730.744

81,861,069

Of which:

Administration budget*

0.375

227,319

227,319

Near-cash in Resource DEL

222.545

5.123

77,252.971

1,003.603

78,256.574

Capital DEL

-13.000

2,073.115

3,241.953

5,315.068

Total Department of Health DEL

222.545

-217.127

83,203.440

3,972.697

87,176.137

Depreciation**

-816.133

-35.779

-851.912

Total Department of Health spending (after adjustment)

222.545

-217.127

82,387.307

3,936.918

86,324.225

Food Standards Agency

Resources

0.415

143.900

0

143.900

Of which:

Administration budget*

0.415

52.423

0

52.423

Near-cash in Resource DEL

0

140.677

60

140.737

Capital

0.300

0.947

0

0.947

Total Food Standards A oencv DFT

0.715

144.847

0

144.847

Depreciation*

0

-2.004

0

-2.004

Total Food Standards Agency spending (after adjustment)

0.715

142.843

0

142.843

* The total of “administration budget” and “Near cash in Resource DEL” figures may well be greater than the total resource DEL, due to definitions overlapping.

**Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since the capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

The Department of Health DEL has increased by £5,418,000 made up of transfers from the Home Office £18,436,000 for prison healthcare services, the Department of Trade and Industry £1,600,000 for changes in pension scheme calculations and the Cabinet Office £457,000 (administration costs) for services of parliamentary counsel. These increases are offset by transfers to the Department for Education and Skills £15,000,000 mainly for capital building programmes and childcare services and to the Home Office £75,000 (administration costs) for a transfer of staff.

The Department of Health's administration cost limit has increased by £375,000 comprising a transfer to programme budgets of £7,000 for library services and net interdepartmental transfers of £382,000 (detailed above).

The changes to the Food Standards Agency resource element of the departmental expenditure limit arises from an interdepartmental transfer from Defra, to be used in paying for the staff costs of the Wine Standards Board from July 2006 when the responsibility was passed on to the FSA. As a result of this, the administration costs of the Food Standards Agency will increase by £415,000 from £52,008,000, to £52,423,000.

The changes to the Food Standards Agency capital element of the departmental expenditure limit arises from a take-up of EYF to increase capital expenditure reflecting the Food Standards Agency's headquarters capital investment programme. As a result of this, the Food Standards Agency capital costs will increase by £300,000 from £647,000 to £947,000.