3 May 1989]
THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
31
[Continued
3. What are the major capital projects for which underspends have been carried forward from 1987-88? Are these projects back on schedule?
The underspends which were carried forward are of two types: the £5 million carried forward under the FCO's asset recycling scheme, and the £2 million carried forward under the arrangements available to all Government Departments.
The 1985 asset recycling agreement with the Treasury incorporated provision for end-year flexibility by which FCO is permitted to carry over up to £5 million from one year to the next on the capital programme. (The reference to "underspend" may not therefore be wholly appropriate.) The need to use the carry forward facility was mainly for cases where local circumstances frustrated the completion of an acquisition. Purchase of a plot in Nairobi on which to build new offices, purchase of a new Residence in Jakarta and of new offices in Manila, are three examples of acquisitions whose timings were frustrated by circumstances beyond FCO's control. But local political, economic and operational factors have also caused delay in starting major building projects, for example the Kinshasa compound development and a slower rate of spending on the Warsaw office conversions. Some of these projects have been brought back on schedule, others are going ahead on revised schedules and a few are still stalled. Meanwhile, other projects in the programme have been brought forward, but FCO still expects to need to take advantage of the carry forward facility in future years.
The £2 million underspend on other capital projects in 1987-88 arose mainly from slow progress by the supplier of the turnkey development project, FOLIOS, the aim of which was to put secure office automation into 10 per cent of the FCO in London by the first quarter of 1989. As a result of development problems the supplier has declared further slippage. It is therefore not envisaged that any significant call will be made upon financial resources earmarked for FOLIOS in the current financial year. A further consequence is the deferment of this resource requirement to future years.
In order to maximise use of the total available capital resources (including the £2 million brought forward) expenditure on technical equipment has been increased by £988,000 to accommodate slippage from 1987-88 and to accelerate programme expenditure originally planned for 1989-90. The balance of £1,012,000 has been committed to urgent security measures at our communications headquarters at Hanslope Park, temporary accommodation for our Technical Security Department, and resource costs associated with the rebuilding of the Central Transmitting Station at Creslow.
4. Could you give a breakdown of the costs of the Government Hospitality Fund in 1988–89?
Expenditure from the GHF subhead up to 23 February 1988 amounted to £741,691 made up as follows:
£
State Visits
98,007
Catering
150,251
Functions held in Scotland
9,123
Representational Transport
126,094
Removals and Porterage
34,000
Hotel Accommodation
147,644
Printing
37,443
Laundry
Floral Displays
Wines and Spirits
Soft Drinks
Theatres
15,382
8,815
63,981
3,435
5,746
Airport Charges
4,095
Equipment for GHF Functions
24,715
Booking Fees for GHF Venues Stocktaking Fees
11,959
1,001
TOTAL: 741,691
The Vote provision for 1988-89 is £910,000. The unspent balance of £168,309 is expected to be taken up by bills in the pipeline for past functions, and by functions occurring in the last five weeks of the financial year.
In addition to the costs charged to the GHF subhead, staff and accommodation costs of £617,000 are charged to the main running costs subhead.
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