General Purpose
151.This schedule amends legislation concerned with the capital expenditure of and borrowing by various statutory bodies. The effect of paragraph 1 is to require the Scottish Ministers, in consenting to capital expenditure under section 94 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to keep within a limit set by Budget Act. The remaining provisions ensure that bodies can only borrow in any financial year up to a net limit which will be set by the Parliament in a Budget Act for that year. One limit will be set for all bodies within a particular group. It will limit the net aggregate amount of external borrowing of all of those bodies in the year concerned.
152.The bodies to whom this applies are:
NHS Trusts (paragraph 2);
Scottish Homes (paragraph 3);
Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (paragraph 4);
New water and sewerage authorities (paragraph 6);
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (paragraph 7).