03 November 2006
The Scottish Executive underspent its budget by £296m last year, latest figures have revealed.
The sum is higher than expected, as it compares with the figure of £235m announced by Finance Minister Tom McCabe in June when he gave details of funds that would be carried forward to the next financial year under flexibility arrangements.
Details of the Executive's spending performance are given in its consolidated accounts for 2005/06 published this week.
The document shows a resource spending outturn for the year of £22,681m. This compares with a resource budget of £22,894m. In addition, the capital budget was underspent by £83m, giving a total figure of £296m.
The accounts state that the £235m figure announced by McCabe in June was based on provisional figures.
'The difference is largely accounted for by the impact of changes arising from the annual revaluation of the roads network, which was not finalised until after the provisional outturn was announced,' the document states.
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