§ MR. YOXALL (Nottingham, W.)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether collectors, supervisors, and officers of Inland Revenue have to make weekly returns of duties paid; whether such returns are furnished to the Accountant and Comptroller-General at Somerset House every week by about 467 officials from all parts of the United Kingdom, though the same returns as vouchers are sent up at the close of each month; and whether, to check such weekly returns, a large and expensive staff of clerks is employed at Somerset House; and, if so, whether he Will cause inquiry to be made as to the utility of such a system of weekly accounts, and the justification for great cost thereof to the taxpayers.
§ SIR M. HICKS-BEACHEach collector of Inland Revenue furnishes to the Accountant and Comptroller-General at Somerset House a weekly petty account unvouched, containing a simple summary of receipts, the total repayments or charges defrayed therefrom, and the net produce. Independent weekly returns are also sent in by supervisors in charge of districts. Collectors also render monthly accounts of their detailed receipts and disbursements, with vouchers, etc., ten days after the close of each month. Weekly returns are necessary both for the purpose of keeping the Chief Office informed of the movements of the Revenue and to guard against the risk of loss to the Exchequer. The expenditure of time and money involved in the local preparation of the weekly returns and their examination at headquarters is quite inconsiderable.