Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866

This Act may be cited for all purposes as “The Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866.”

In this Act F1... “principal accountants” shall mean those who receive issues directly from the accounts of Her Majesty’s Exchequer at the F2Bank of England; F3...

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F1... The person appointed to be Comptroller and Auditor General shall have and perform all the powers and duties conferred or imposed on the Comptroller General of the Exchequer and the Commissioners for auditing the Public Accounts respectively by any enactments relative to those authorities respectively, as far as the same are not repealed or altered by this Act or any other Act of the present session of Parliament. ...

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F1...; F2All public moneys payable to the Exchequer shall be paid F3into the Consolidated Fund; and accounts of all such payments shall be rendered to the Comptroller and Auditor General daily, in such form as the Treasury may prescribe: F4....

All moneys paid into the Bank of England F1. . . on account of the Exchequer shall be considered by the Governor and Company F2of the said Bank as forming one general fund in its books; and all orders directed by the Treasury to the Bank for issues out of credits to be granted by the Comptroller and Auditor General, as herein-after provided for the public service, shall be satisfied out of such general fund; and with a view to economize the public balances, the Treasury shall restrict the sums to be issued or transferred from time to time to the credit of accounts of principal accountants at the Bank, as herein-after provided, to such total sums as they may consider necessary for conducting the current payments for the public service intrusted to such principal accountants; and the said principal accountants may consider the sums so transferred to their accounts as constituting part of their general drawing balance, applicable to the payment of all the services for which they are accountable; but such sums shall be carried in the books of such accountants to the credit of the respective services for which the same may be issued, as specified in such orders: Provided always, that this enactment shall not be construed to empower the Treasury or any authority to direct the payment, by any such principal accountant, of expenditure not sanctioned by any Act whereby services are or may be charged on the Consolidated Fund, or by a vote of the House of Commons, or by an Act for the appropriation of the supplies annually granted by Parliament.

When any sum or sums of moneys shall have been granted to Her Majesty by a resolution of the House of Commons, or by an Act of Parliament, to defray expenses for any specified public services, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty from time to time, by her royal order under the Royal Sign Manual, countersigned by the Treasury, to authorize and require the Treasury to issue, out of the credits to be granted to them on the F1Exchequer account as herein-after provided, the sums which may be required from time to time to defray such expenses, not exceeding the amount of the sums so voted or granted.

The Treasury may from time to time determine—

It shall be lawful for the Treasury, whenever they shall consider it for the advantage of the public service, to direct that the accounts of any public officer or department, which by any Act or Acts are required to be kept under separate heads at the Bank of England F1. . ., shall be consolidated in such manner as they shall judge most convenient for the public service.

It shall be lawful for the Bank of England F1..., at the request of the Treasury ... for the public convenience, to open and keep accounts of Government stock and annuities in the books of F2the Bank under the official description of any public officer for the time being, without naming him; and the dividends on such stock and annuities may from time to time be received, and the stock and annuities or any part thereof to the credit of such account may from time to time be transferred, by the officer for the time being holding such office, as if such stock and annuities stood in his own name; and upon the death, resignation, or removal of any such public officer the stock and annuities standing to the credit of such account, and all dividends thereon, including any dividends not theretofore received, shall become vested in his successor in office, and be receivable and transferable accordingly. And any such public officer in whose official description such Government stock and annuities may be standing may by letter of attorney authorize the Bank of England ..., or all or any of its cashiers, to sell and transfer all or any part of the stock or annuities from time to time standing in the books of the Bank on such account, and to receive the dividends due and to become due thereon; but no stock or annuities shall be sold or transferred at the Bank under the authority of such general letter of attorney, except upon an order in writing given to the Bank by the Treasury.

The accounts which F1by section 3 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921 (examination of cash accounts) the Treasury are empowered to subject to the examination of the Comptroller and Auditor General shall be rendered to him by the departments or officers who may be directed so to do by the Treasury; and the term “accountant,” when used in this and the following sections of this Act with reference to any such accounts, shall be taken to mean the department or officer that may be so required by the Treasury to render the same; and F2every accountant shall, at such times and in such form as the Treasury shall determine, render an account of his receipts and payments together with the authorities and vouchers relating thereto to the Comptroller and Auditor General; and it shall be the duty of the Treasury to inform him of the appointment of every such officer.

Nothing in this Act contained shall extend to abridge or alter the rights and powers of Her Majesty to control, suspend, or prevent the execution of any process or proceeding, under this Act or otherwise, for recovering money due to the Crown.

F1... All accounts required or directed to be audited by the Board of Audit shall be audited according to the provisions of this Act: But nothing herein shall be deemed to confer upon the Treasury the powers with respect to audit vested in the Admiralty by the M1Greenwich Hospital Act 1865. ...