DEL for the Learning and Skills Council; and the correction of an over allocation of funds through a return to the Invest Save Budget of £3,000.

The £1,185,000 reduction in the Administration Costs limit for RfR 1 arises from the transfer of £871,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions for the transfer of responsibility for Ranmoor Hall, Sheffield and support for International Relations; the transfer of £411,000 to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Government Offices and for regional co-ordinators for Adult Basic Skills training; and the transfer of £97,000 from the Office for National Statistics for the Neighbourhood Statistics programme.

The reduction in the voted element of resource DEL for RfR2 arises from the transfer of £759,000 to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to contribute to the accommodation and the provision of central services in the Government Offices.

The £1,351,000 increase in the Administration Costs limit for RfR2 arises from the virement from current grants.

The reduction in the voted element of resource DEL for RfR3 arises from the transfer of £430,000 from administration costs to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to contribute to the accommodation and the provision of central services in the Government Offices.

The £73,375,000 increase in the voted element of the capital DEL for RfRl arises from the draw down of £77,500,000 from the Capital Modernisation Fund for direct grants to schools; the virement of £4,000,000 to non voted DEL to the Learning and Skills Council; the transfer of £100,000 to the Department for Work and Pension for the transfer of responsibility for Ranmoor Hall, Sheffield; and the correction of an over allocation of funds through a return to the Invest Save Budget of £25,000.

The £66,897,000 increase in the non-voted element of the resource DEL for RfRl arises from the virement of £59,247,000 from voted DEL to the Learning and Skills Council; the transfer from the Department for Work and Pensions of £3,600,000 to the Adult Learning Inspectorate for inspections of New Deal training providers; the transfer from the Home Office to the Higher Education Funding Council for England of £3,250,000 for the Active Community Fund; and the transfer from the Department for Transport of £800,000 for a project to address the training and skills in the Road Haulage Industry.

The £11,500,000 increase in the non-voted element of the capital DEL for RfRl arises from the draw down of £7,500,000 from the Capital Modernisation Fund to the Learning and Skills Council for further education and the virement of £4,000,000 from voted DEL to the Learning and Skills Council.

The increases will be offset by transfers or charges to the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of Public expenditure'.

(i) The changes for Request for Resources 1 are as follows:

Take up of End Year Flexibility of £8,516,000 comprising £2,000,000 for Safer Communities Supported Housing Fund, £1, 806,000 for the Rent Service and £4,710,000 for the Planning Inspectorate administration. An increase of £43,658,000 from non-voted provision for Homelessness Strategies (£9,000,000), Bed and Breakfast (16,100,000), Priority Needs Orders (£10,000,000), Housing research and publicity (£150,000), Regeneration publicity (£350,000) and Rough Sleepers (£8,058,000). Take up from the Capital Modernisation Fund of £15,000 for the New Ventures Fund. A technical adjustment of £1,000,000 to correct the treatment of an Ordnance Survey interest payment. A net decrease of £15,919,000 arising from the following inter-departmental transfers: a reduction of £13,683,000 due to the reclassification of pneumoconiosis compensation payments to a provision and which has subsequently transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions, £2,066,000 to the Home Office for grants to the voluntary sector, £2,000,000 to the Home Office for Crime Reduction, £100,000 to the Department for Education and Skills for Community Champions, £300,000 from the Home Office for New Ventures Fund, £130,000 from the Home Office for Special Grants Programme and £1,500,000 from the Home Office for neighbourhood wardens. Take up from Invest To Save Budget of £597,000 for Ordnance Survey (£165,000) and Fire Service Projects (£432,000).

(ii) The changes for Request for Resources 2 are as follows:

Machinery of Government change of £1,726,236,000 to the Department for Transport.

(iii) The changes for Request for Resources 4 are as follows:

A net decrease of £295,618,000 arising from machinery of government transfers to Department for Transport (£108,842,000), to the Department for Work and Pensions (£193,174,000), from the Home Office (£2,162,000), and from the Cabinet Office (£4,236,000). An increase of £107,925,000 arising from other interdepartmental transfers from the Cabinet office (£98,630,000), the Home Office (£6,104,000), the Department for Education and Skills (£2,539,000) and from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (£652,000). A transfer of £4,000 from Requests for Resource 3 to meet costs of providing administration services.

(iv) Provision within the non-Voted resource element of the DTLR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit will be decreased by £1,287,007,000 to reflect machinery of government transfer to Department for Transport (£1,243,279,000), a machinery of government transfer to the Department for Work and Pensions (£70,000) and a transfer to voted provision on Request for Resources 1 (£43,658,000).

(v) As a result of the changes to Requests for Resources 1,2 and 4 the ODPM administration provision has been decreased by £364,510,000 from £707,882,000 to £343,372,000.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:

(vi) The changes for Request for Resources 1 are as follows:

Take up of End Year Flexibility of £25,926,000 comprising £11,809,000 for Safer Communities supported Housing Fund, £14,000,000 for Starter Homes Initiative and £117,000 for The Rent Service Invest to Save Budget. A technical adjustment of £1,121,000 for Ordnance Survey loan repayment. An increase following a transfer from Department for Transport of £30,000,000 arising from the repayment of a loan. Take up from the Capital Modernisation Fund of £74, 055,000 for The Rent Service (£1,500,000), New Dimension (£43,000,000), Choice Based lettings (£3,355,000 including take up of End Year Flexibility of £2,355,000), Housing Market Renewal Fund (£25,000,000) and Public Space Improvement (£1,200,000). Take up from Invest to Save Budget of £65,000 for Ordnance Survey (£15,000) and Fire Service Projects (£50,000). A transfer of £14,629,000 from non-voted resources for Private Sector Housing Renewal (£8,000,000), Housing Defect grants (£1,629,000) and Coalfields Regeneration Trust (£5,000,000).

(vii) The changes for Request for Resources 2 are as follows:

Machinery of Government change of £2,653,199,000 to the Department for Transport.

(viii) The changes for Request for Resources 4 are as follows:

A decrease of £33,666,000 arising from machinery of government transfers to the Department for Transport (£23,101,000), and to the Department of Work and Pensions (£10,565,000). An increase of £613,000 arising from a further interdepartmental transfer from the Cabinet Office.

(ix) Provision within the non-Voted capital element of the DTLR Main Programmes Departmental Expenditure Limit will be decreased by £2,406,543,000 in respect of a Machinery of Government transfer to Department for Transport (£2,391,914,000) and a transfer to voted provision on Request for Resources 1 (£14,629,000).

(b) the DTLR Local Government DEL will be increased by £35, 136,000 from £37,649,827,000 to £37, 684,963,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:

(i) The changes for Request for Resources 3 are as follows:

Take up of End Year Flexibility of £23,792,000: VOA rating services (£1,200,000), Best Value Inspectorate (£2,958,000), Local Government research (£600,000), PFI Special Grants (£5,400,000), support for local authorities (Bellwin) (£1,500,000), Local Government On-Line Resource (1,732,000), and take up from the Invest to Save Budget (£10,402,000). £2,000,000 from the DEL Reserve for Special Grants for Foot and Mouth Disease NNDR concessions. A decrease of £21,000 arising from machinery of government changes transfer to the Lord Chancellor's Department and £4,000 transfer to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Request for Resources 4 in respect of costs of providing administration services.

(ii) Provision within the non-Voted resource element of the Local Government DEL will increase by £2,200,000 to reflect the take up of End Year Flexibility for the Standards Board for England.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:

(iii) The changes for Request for Resources 3 are as follows:

Take up of End Year Flexibility of £4,240,000 for Local Government On-Line. Take up from the Invest to Save Budget End Year Flexibility of £2,929,000.

The increases will be offset by inter-departmental transfers or charged to the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

(i) take up of £150,800,000 of resource end year flexibility, comprising:

(a) £139,627,000 for the Strategic Rail Authority (non-voted) to meet extra costs that have arisen on some passenger rail franchises;

(b) £11,173,000 to increase the Road Haulage Modernisation Fund (including £800,000 that has been transferred to the Department for Education and Skills for the Learning and Skills Council's training scheme for the road haulage industry);

(ii) take up of £13,020,000 capital end year flexibility for the Highways Agency to support resource expenditure in line with the Agency's business plan;

(iii) a transfer of £200,000 to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in respect of fishermen's' safety training;

(iv) a transfer of £782,000 from the Home Office for research on dedicated vehicle identity checks;

(v) a transfer of £3,800,000 (administration costs) to the Department for Work and Pensions in respect of contributions to the Health and Safety Commission's work on implementation of the recommendations in Lord Cullen's report on the rail accident at Ladbroke Grove;

(vi) the transfer of £15,141,000 from the capital element of the DEL to the resource element, comprising:

(a) £7,230,000 for aviation services;

(b) £538,000 for London Underground PPP Advisors;

(c) £7,373,000 for the Strategic Rail Authority (non-voted);

(vii) an increase in receipts of £65,000 to offset capital expenditure on maintenance of the International Maritime Organization building. The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:

(i) a call on the DEL reserve of £643,000,000 and a transfer of £100,000,000 from departmental unallocated provision to ensure continued funding of, and increased investment in, London Underground Limited;

(ii) a draw down of £9,100,000 from the Capital Modernisation Fund comprising:

(a) £8,600,000 for Electronic Service Delivery of Abnormal Loads; and

(b) £500,000 for the Vehicle Certification Agency's WIMS project;

(iii) a transfer of £30,000,000 to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to re-imburse a transfer from housing capital programmes made in 2001–02;

(iv) a transfer of £15,141,000 from Trans European networks payments for rail and other transport industries projects to the resource element of the DEL;

(v) a transfer from non-voted credit approvals of £28,078,000 to voted programmes in support of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (£9,517,000), road user charging (£1,941,000), Transport Direct (£1,000,000), water freight grants (£8,247,000), local authorities requesting support for "accepted" road schemes (£6,229,000) and Promoting Sustainable Travel Initiatives1 Cycle Fund (£1,144,000);

(vi) a transfer of £11,307,000 from voted provision for the Highways Agency to non-voted credit approvals for de-trunking programmes;

(vii) a transfer of £38,000,000 from voted provision for the Highways Agency to the Strategic Rail Authority (non-voted) to meet additional project development costs;

(vii) an increase of £65,000 in respect of maintenance of the International Maritime Organization building, offset by resource appropriations in aid.

The administration costs limit comprises £483,246,000 transferred from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, following Machinery of Government changes, and a subsequent reduction of £3,800,000.

All of these changes will be offset by inter-departmental transfers or charged to the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

The value of non-statutory Undertakings given to Her Majesty in respect of loans from the Royal Collection and which remained outstanding as at 30 September is: Value: £216,852,270

the merger, on 1 July 2002, of the National Investment and Loans Office with HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office (£192,000 net, of which administration costs is £1,975,000). NILO's DEL will be reduced from £191,000 to £0 and the administration cost limit will decrease from £2,018,000 to £0 as a result of the merger;

draw down of £485,000 Invest to Save Budget funding;

a transfer of £67,000 administrative costs to HM Customs and Excise for costs incurred by the Penrose Inquiry team;

a transfer of £4,400,000 programme expenditure from the Office of Government Commerce to the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Court Service for properties transferred from the OGC's residual estate portfolio.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from the merger of NILO with HM Treasury and the DMO (£33,000). NILO's capital DEL will reduce from £33,000 to £0.

There is also an increase to non-voted DEL of £44,000 as a consequence of the NILO/HMT merger. This is for provision programme expenditure. NILO's non-voted DEL will decrease from £44,000 to £0.

The increases will be offset by inter-departmental transfers and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure. the end of their time on the scheme. However, the upper age limit of 25 will be removed altogether to enable mature students to benefit from the scheme and to earn money that they can use to fund their education.

I hope these changes will ensure the scheme can continue to make an important contribution to meeting the seasonal labour needs of the agriculture industry and in doing so provide participants with a valuable experience of working in the UK.

Employers and Employees

In line with the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, the Lower Earnings Limit for primary Class 1 contributions is to be raised to £77 a week. It is set at the level of the basic Retirement Pension for a single person from April 2003 and rounded down to the nearest pound.

The Primary and Secondary Thresholds for Class 1 contributions will continue to be aligned with the weekly amount of the income tax personal allowance, which will be frozen from April 2003. The Primary and and Excise DEL will be increased by £50,878,000 from £1,107,850,000 to £1,158,728,000 and the administration costs limit will be increased by £61,644,000 from £956,323,000 to £1,017,967,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:

Secondary Thresholds will therefore remain at £89 a week. This means that no tax or Class 1 contributions will actually be paid on earnings below this level.

The Upper Earnings Limit for primary Class 1 contributions will be raised to £595.

The self-employed

The rate of Class 2 contributions will be frozen at £2.00 a week.

Self-employed people with earnings below the annual Small Earnings Exception can apply to be exempted from paying Class 2 contributions. This limit will be raised by £70 to £4,095 in line with inflation.

The annual lower profits limit for liability to Class 4 contributions will remain at £4,615 a year (in line with the income tax personal allowance). The Upper Profits Limit will increase by £520 to £30,940, to maintain the link with employees' earnings liable to Class 1 contributions.

Class 3

The rate of Class 3 voluntary contributions will be increased by 10 pence to £6.95 a week.

Share fishermen

The special rate of Class 2 contributions for share fishermen, which allows them to build entitlement to contributory Jobseekers Allowance in addition to the other contributory benefits available to the self-employed, will remain at £2.65 a week.

Volunteer Development Workers

The special rate of Class 2 contributions for volunteer development workers, which entitles them to the full range of contributory benefits, will be increased by 10 pence to £3.85 in line with the statutory formula of 5 per cent of the primary Class 1 Lower Earnings Limit.

Treasury Grant

I need to ensure that the Fund can maintain a prudent working balance throughout the coming year. In accordance with section 2 (2) of the Social Security Act 1993, I propose to do so by prescribing that the maximum Treasury Grant which may be made available to the Fund in 2003–04 shall not exceed 2 per cent of the estimated benefit expenditure for that year. Similar provision will be made in respect of the Northern Ireland National Insurance Fund.

I shall be laying a draft re-rating order before Parliament in due course. This will accompany a report by the Government Actuary to myself and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which we shall jointly present to Parliament.

The following table sets out the rates, earnings limits and thresholds for National Insurance Contributions proposed for 2003–04.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from the draw down of £78,102,000 administration costs EYF, and additional income for VOA services.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from the draw down of capital EYF and non-discretionary EYF, totalling £37,631,000 as set out in the Public expenditure Outturn White Paper (CM5574). It also includes the draw down of £900,000 from the Capital Modernisation Fund.

The net increase in the resource element of the DEL is due to two factors. Firstly, there is an increase in Resource DEL due to the draw down of £1,021,000 in respect of Resource DEL end year flexibility arrangements. This is partially offset by a transfer of £250,000 in total to other Government Departments in relation to work to develop the Neighbourhood Statistics programme. The transfers comprise £97,000 to the Department for Education and Skills, £127,000 to the Department of Health and £26,000 to the Lord Chancellor's Department.

The reduction in the capital element of the DEL arises from a transfer of capital costs of some £1,003,000 in total to other government departments in relation to

a reclassification from AME into DEL of £5,400,000 for fire service pensions;

an increase of £3,500,000 for safety cameras;

an increase of £3,000,000 for the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund;

the take-up of EYF by the Scotland Office amounting to £200,000; and

the take-up of EYF by the Boundary Commission for Scotland amounting to £65,000.

The DEL increase also includes the following transfers to and from other Government departments, amounting to a net increase of £2,412,000. These are;

transfers of £2,763,000 from the Department for Trade and Industry;

a transfer of £34,000 from the Home Office; and

a transfer of £385,000 to the Department of Health.

All of the increases add to the resource budget, and the capital budget of £100,000 is unchanged.

£154,716,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:

The increases will be offset by interdepartmental transfers as detailed above, classifications or charged to the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

the necessary Supplementary Estimate, British Trade International's Resource DEL will be increased by £3,707,000 from £92,131,000 to £95,838,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are set out in the following table.

The report is presented in two parts; Part 1 is a summary of the progress and achievements across Government against the commitments and priorities set out in the 3rd Annual Report on Greening Government last year; Part 2 of the report will be in the form of a database giving details of the performance of every department. The database will be available on the Government's Sustainable development website— www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/ar2002/ index.htm

There is also an executive summary of the report which highlights major achievements and priorities. The information contained within Part 2 has been transferred to CD-ROM and placed alongside copies of Part 1 and the executive summary in the libraries of both Houses.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from: i) a draw down of £136,900,000 from the DEL Reserve for various Departmental priorities including FMD, ii) a take-up of our entitlement to £69,300,000 under End-Year flexibility, iii) a take-up of £2,000,000 programme resources from the November 2000 Flood Defence Package, iv) a switch of £12,100,000 programme resources to administrative resources, as agreed with Treasury, v) a transfer from RfRl to RfR2 of £128,000,000 in respect of England Rural Development Plan (ERDP), vi) a transfer of £70,000 programme resources to LCD for Countryside Rights of Way Act, vii) a transfer of £105,000 programme resources to DTI for the Farm Business Advice Service (FBAS) and, viii) to take-up transfers from ex DTLR of £37,114,000 held over from last year, ix) to take-up £200,000 programme resources from DfT for fishermen's training.

Our EYF resource entitlement above includes £34,522,000 budget cover (non-Estimate) for the British Waterways Board (BWB), one of our Public Corporations.

The increase in the capital element of the DEL arises from take up of end of year flexibility on the Capital Modernisation Fund. The increase will be charged to the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from: i) a draw-down of £3,000,000 from the DEL Reserve for Departmental priorities, ii) a take-up of our entitlement to £59,667,000 under End-Year flexibility and, (iii) a take-up of £15,000,000 from the November 2000 Flood Defence Package.

Our EYF capital entitlement above includes £8,461,000 budget cover (non-Estimate) for the BWB.

The increase will either be offset by transfers or charged to the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

The change in the resource element of the DEL is the net effect of: take up of £1,000,000 administration costs from the Policy Innovation Fund; take up of £243,000 resources from the Invest to Save Budget; take up of £34,931,000 in relation to the Criminal Justice System (CIS) Reserve from the Home Office, of which £14,224,000 is administration costs; take up of transfers totalling £210,000 resources from the Home Office, of which £45,000 is administration costs; a transfer of £20,000 resources to the Home Office; a transfer of £4,322,000 resources from the Office of Government Commerce; a transfer of £26,000 resources from the Office for National Statistics; take up of Invest to Save Budget end year flexibility of £268,000 resources, of which £226,000 is administration costs; to take up end year flexibility of £3,820,000 administration costs relating to the Criminal Justice System (CIS) Reserve; and a transfer of £ 1,171,000 resources from capital grant utilising the 2 ½per cent, capital to resource allowance.

The change in the Public Records Office resource element of DEL arises from: the take up of £1,000,000 administration costs from end year flexibility.

The change in the capital element of the DEL is the net effect of: take up of £1,100,000 resources from the Capital Modernisation Fund for HM Land Registry; take up of £36,000 resources from the Invest to Save Budget; take up of £8,650,000 Round 1 Capital Modernisation Fund from the Home Office; take up of £8,000,000 in relation to the Criminal Justice System (CJS) Reserve from the Home Office; take up Capital Modernisation Fund end year flexibility of £4,215,000; take up of Invest to Save Budget end year flexibility of £65,000 resources; and a transfer of £1,171,000 to resource grant utilising the 2 ½ per cent, capital to resource allowance.

The increases will be offset by inter-departmental transfers, increases to Appropriations in Aid and take up of End Year Flexibility entitlements and will therefore not add to the planned total of public expenditure.

Yesterday, Mr Justice Maurice Kay held that the Government were wrong not to have included any options for new runways at Gatwick. However, the Court granted permission for the Government to appeal against this decision. Having considered the matter, I believe it would be wrong to extend the uncertainty that would inevitably result from a lengthy appeal process, and so I have therefore decided to accept the judgment. As a result we will include Gatwick in the consultation. This will regrettably mean that the publication of the White Paper will be delayed.

I will make a further statement setting out how we intend to proceed shortly.

a transfer of £40,000,000 resource from the Unallocated Subhead (RfRl: E3) to the Bilateral Subhead;

to give effect to the transfer of £3,700,000 resource from the Central Reserve as a contribution to the Commonwealth Education Fund;

to give effect to the take up of DEL end year flexibility of £28,757,000 resource on programme expenditure;

a transfer of £20,000 resource to the Home Office representing a contribution to membership of the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO);

a transfer of £5,000,000 resource from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Global Conflict Prevention.

The increase will be met by inter-departmental transfers or from the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

an Investment Company (the existing CDC, with some amendments to its Articles), which would continue to own the cash and investment assets of CDC and its subsidiaries. The Investment Company will remain wholly-owned by the Government during the reorganisation, and will be responsible for ensuring that HMG's capital adheres to CDC's Investment Policy.

a new Management Company will be formed during 2003, subject to regulatory and other procedures being completed. The Management Company will raise and invest capital from the Investment Company, other Development Finance Institutions and private investors, following responsible business principles and providing leadership and supervision of a family of Funds.

The initial Funds will include Funds for Africa, South Asia, the power sector and the SME sector. Each Fund will be managed by a dedicated fund management subsidiary of the Management Company. The new Funds will be run on a commercial basis that attracts capital from private investors and Development Finance Institutions, to meet the Governments objective of increasing investment in poorer developing countries.

The structure of a management company and a family of Funds is an accepted norm in the international fund management industry. The advantages of adopting this structure in CDC are as follows.

Each Fund would have its own focus and investment strategy, target rate of return, risk profile and other characteristics. Potential private investors will be able to identify Funds that fit into their own investment strategies. The structure also enables specialised managers to be allocated to each Fund, and for incentives to be directly linked to individual Fund performance.

Under current management arrangements, there is no competition for the management of CDC's capital. In the medium term, the Investment Company will be able to procure investment management services on a competitive basis, and to invest in Funds launched by other companies as well as by the Management Company. The reorganisation will therefore lead to a more competitive market for the management of investments in poorer developing countries.

The Government have concluded that, under current market conditions, we cannot obtain value for money from a sale of shares in CDC Group pic as currently constituted. We are currently exploring with our advisers an appropriate corporate and shareholding structure for the Management Company and its subsidiaries, including the possible participation of private institutions and employees. In the long term, it is possible that equity in the Investment Company could also be offered for sale, when the right conditions obtain.

The Investment Policy will remain broadly unchanged. The CDC Universe will apply to both the Investment Company and the Management Company, as will the responsible business principles. The requirements that 70 per cent, of investments should be for poorer developing countries, and 50 per cent, for sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, will apply to the Investment Company's capital but not to third party capital. The 50 per cent, target for sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia will no longer be an "aim", but will be placed on the same mandatory basis over five-year rolling periods as the 70 per cent, target.

I have informed the Select Committee of these proposals, which I believe will enable CDC to mobilise increased investment in the poorer developing countries, and make a stronger contribution to our goal of eliminating poverty.