CIVIL SERVICES, APPROPRIATION ACCOUNTS, 1924-25. REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL. 1. It should be borne in mind in considering my Reports that, while they are framed on the best information at my disposal, and, in the great majority of cases, after communication with the Departments concerned, they are necessarily prepared before the Departmental witnesses have been examined, and that they do not possess the same degree of authority or finality as the Report ultimately presented to the House of Commons by its own Committee of Public Accounts after hearing evidence on the points raised by me. It must also be remembered that they necessarily deal only with the small percentage of cases which require comment or investigation, and afford no indication of the high standard attained in the administration of public expenditure taken as a whole. Excess Votes. 2. Three Excess Votes are required, viz : Navy.-Excess expenditure 45,8521. 3s. 6d., which will be covered by Excess receipts of 372,0651. 6s. 3d. (see my Report on the Navy Appropriation Account). Class I, Vote 7, Diplomatic and Consular Buildings 4,2581. 3s. 11d. (see paragraph 7 of this Report), and Class VI, Vote 4, Ministry of Pensions 416,3841. 10s. 3d., towards meeting which there will be Excess receipts of 33,5381. 4s. 7d. (see paragraph 54 of this Report). (20085) Wt.15927/32 1125 2/26 Harrow G.13/9 Out-turn of the Year. 3. It will be seen from the Grand Summary on pages xxxvi and xxxvii that the total amount to be surrendered on the Civil Services Votes is 11,114,0167. 19s. 11d. made up thus :— £ s. d. £ 269,069,223 The amount to be be surrendered by Revenue Departments is 402,9281. Os. 1d. (for details see paragraph 1 of my Report on those Appropriation Accounts). The aggregate surplus on the Votes for the Civil Services and Revenue Departments is therefore 11,516,9451. 4. The Civil Services and Revenue Departments Estimates for the year approximate much more closely to actual requirements than those of the two preceding years, as will be seen from the following table, in which are set forth the percentage ratios of surrenders to Supply Grants. 2.7 11.8 2.5 9.8 20.6 3.9 6.4 4.1 1923-24. 16.5 15.4 8.9 According to the table furnished by the Treasury, and set forth in paragraph 1 of the Second Report of the Public Accounts Committee for 1925, the average annual percentages of savings on net Estimates for the fourteen years 1900-01 to 1913-14 were : Army and Air 1.3 ... 0.8 2.5 1.3 1.4 * For purposes of comparison, the surplus of ordinary receipts, payable to the Exchequer, is included in the surrender figure. From the same table, the following figures have been extracted for the years 1922-23 and 1923-24. The corresponding figures for 1924-25 are also given. Surrender of Balances on 1923-24 Votes. 5. The balances to be surrendered out of Civil Services and Revenue Departments Votes for 1923-24 amounted to a total of 21,045,4531. 10s. 2d. I hereby certify that the whole of these balances have been duly surrendered to the Exchequer. Store and Stock Accounts. 6. The Store and Stock Accounts of the Civil Departments have been examined by my officers. The results are satisfactory, with certain exceptions, which are dealt with in subsequent paragraphs under the Votes for the Departments concerned. Includes, for purposes of comparison, the surplus of ordinary receipts, payable to the Exchequer. (20085) B CLASS I, VOTE 7.-DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR BUILDINGS. Excess Expenditure over Estimate. 7. A deficit of 4,2581. 3s. 11d. has arisen on this Vote. The two Supplementary Estimates presented in July and December 1924 provided for additional expenditure only on subhead A., New Works, etc. The account shows under-spending of 8,4881. 17s. 7d. on that subhead, but this saving is not sufficient to meet the excesses on subheads B. and C., which are explained in the footnotes as due mainly to the omission to provide in the Estimates for the cost of maintenance and repair of the Legation at Vienna, and to expenditure in excess of the provision for furniture at various Legations and Consulates. CLASS I, VOTE 10.-PUBLIC BUILDINGS, GREAT BRITAIN. Repayment Services. 8. A new subhead, N., was opened in the Estimates for the Vote for Public Buildings 1924-25, as the outcome of the accounting arrangements mentioned in paragraph 10 of my Report for 1922-23, to record the net result of the transactions relating to certain repayment services. During the year 1924-25 gross expenditure of 318,2721. was incurred on a repayment basis towards which 298,7891. was received, leaving a net charge of 19,4831. on the Vote. The Office of Works had, however, other money in hand to the amount of 24,2401., which had been paid in anticipation of services to be rendered. The full scheme for gross accounting for recoverable services, i.e., charging the subhead of the pertinent Vote with the full cost and crediting Appropriations in Aid with the amount recovered, could not be introduced into the 1924-25 accounts, and most of the repayable services were brought to account through the net subhead N. In 1925-26, however, the Estimates provide for the full scheme being put into operation. A few suspense accounts have been retained with the authority of the Treasury, e.g., Telephone Capital Account, Civil List expenditure, and the expenditure under Section 34 of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920. Establishment Expenses on account of Repayment Services. 9. A charge of 7 per cent. of the direct expenditure incurred on repayment services has been added generally to cover the cost of establishment expenses. The total receipts included under Appropriations in Aid of Class II, Vote 32, were 73,0971., of which 61,4111. relates to recoverable services other than Irish and House Building services. I gather, from recent correspondence between the Commissioners of Works and the Treasury, that the rate of 7 per cent. does not entirely cover the proportionate cost of establishment applicable to services undertaken upon repayment, but the Treasury have sanctioned the continuance of the present rate until further experience has been gained. |