PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23087, 1 August 1940, Page 8

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT USE OF CREDITSTN-AID DISCUSSED [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, July 31. “In the report of the Controller and Auditor-General each year since 1932 the attention of Parliament has been drawn to the unsatisfactory method which has been followed in connexion with the treatment of exchange in the Public Accounts,” states the Controller and Auditor-General (Mr C. G. Collins) in his report tabled in the House of Representatives to-day by the Speaker (the Hon. W. E. Barnard). “The method in question,” he states, “was set out in some detail in last vear’s report, and as due attention has "been drawn to the matter, I propose to comment no further on it meanwhile.” , ~ Dealing with unauthorised expenditure, Mr Collins says that for some years the Employment Promotion Fund provided funds with which various • departments carried out activities to relieve unemployment. Consequent on the abolition of the Employment Promotion Fund, these funds were not available to departmental votes, and mainly for this reason issues for. the service of certain votes were in excess of the amounts available for such service for the period from the beginning of the year to the passing of the Imprest Supply Act. Section 58 of the Public Revenues Act, 1926, made provision - whereby a limited amount of expenditure might be made in excess of or without the appropriation of Parliament, and charged to the unauthorised expenditure account; but this limit was allowed to be exceeded on the Prime Minister giving an undertaking to introduce validating legislation. This was provided in section 9 of the Finance Act, 1939. “Towards the end of the year,” Mr Collins adds, “when it appeared that the unauthorised limit would be exceeded again, the Prime Minister gave a further undertaking to introduce the legislation necessary to validate any over-issue. The statutory limit of £500,000-for services other than railways has been exceeded by £278,032 15s 4d. The necessary validating legislation appears in Section 9 of the Finance Act, 1940." Referring to surplus credits-in-aid, Mr Collins says that the provision of the Public Revenues 'Act in relation to them is that moneys may be expended beyond' the amount having prior authorisation by Parliament, and is in the nature of an addition to the unauthorised authority of £600,000 given by Section 58 (3) of the act. “So long as credits-in-aid are not greatly in excess of the amount estimated to bg received in respect: of them,” Mr Collins • adds, “no serious objection could be taken to their use in the tyay set out; but as shown in the schedule covering the last 10 years, the surpluses made use of are of a very large amount. The use of credits-in-aid to such amounts shows that expenditure under .the votes exceeded the estimate at least to the amount stated, fqr it is only, when this occurs that surplus credits-in-aid are drawn upon.' It has to be added, however, that these surpluses, unlike unauthorised, may be applied only to the purpose provided for by the votes; but provided fori insufficiently.” i,The surpluses made use of in the last 10 years were:—Year ended March 31; 1931. £16,959; 1932, £19,611; 1933, nil: 1934, £5505; 1935, £33,341; 1936, £90,969; 1937, £334,648; 1938,. £680,742; 1939, £1,602,572; 1940, £2,636,269.