Estimates Memoranda

Scrutiny Unit Note on UKTI Supplementary Estimate

1. This note provides Scrutiny Unit commentary on UK Trade & Investment’s (UKTI) 2011-12 Supplementary Estimate and the accompanying Estimates Memorandum. It highlights the headline facts and main issues.

Summary of changes

2. The Supplementary Estimate sets out changes to Resource and Capital DEL, leaving AME unchanged since the Main Estimate. The changes are shown in the table below.

	Resource DEL (£k)	Capital DEL (£k)	Resource AME (£k)
Main Estimate 2011-12	83,937	3,298	21
Chan ge	-55	-132	0
Revised Plans	83,882	3,166	21

3. UKTI’s administration costs are met from within the resources of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). This means that any changes related to Administration costs are shown in the BIS and FCO Supplementary Estimates. The BIS Supplementary Estimate does not detail any changes to Administration costs for UKTI.

4. The reasons for the changes in DEL are set out below.

Budget exchange

5. Budget exchange is a mechanism whereby departments are allowed to transfer a proportion of identified unspent Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) provision into the following year. UKTI has reduced its 2011-12 Resource DEL by £468k and its 2011-12 Capital DEL by £132k. These amounts will be used as Capital DEL in 2012-13 to fund the replacement of UKTI’s electronic Customer Relationship Management Tool.

Transfer from BIS for North West Development Agency

6. BIS has closed its Regional Development Agency network. As part of this, BIS has made a transfer of £413k to UKTI to cover contractual commitments for the North West Development Agency, resulting in an increase in Resource DEL.

Income from sales off-set by expenditure

7. UKTI generates some income from chargeable services (income is around 10% of its gross Resource DEL), for example, its Overseas Markets Introduction Service [1] . As sales are higher than expected at Main Estimate, there is an increase to Resource DEL income of £2 million. This is exactly off-set by an increase in UKTI programme expenditure.

Estimates Memorandum

8. The Estimates Memorandum provides a broad overview of UKTI’s budgets included in the Supplementary Estimate. Main Estimate totals are included and show how the budgets have changed. The guidance on Estimates Memorandum issued by HM Treasury, and agreed with the Scrutiny Unit, does not require smaller departments to routinely provide the same level of detail in their memoranda as required from the major spending departments.

9. The Scrutiny Unit advise that the UKTI’s memorandum can be accepted and published on the Committee’s website.