§ MR. PIKE PEASE (Darlington)To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, seeing that in Financial Instruction No. 8, for pension committees and sub-committees, issued by the Treasury on 29th August, 1908, the clerk of the county council is directed to review and check the accounts of pension committees and sub-committees and to submit a claim to the Treasury for the amount, he will say what authority the Treasury has for calling upon the clerk of the county council to perform duties in connection with the Old-Age Pensions Act; whether the Treasury propose to remunerate the clerk of the county council; who will defray the amount of such claim which the Treasury may, after audit, decide to disallow; and whether the instructions, as distinguished from regulations under the Act, have any validity or binding force.
(Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) The duty of making advances to provide for the immediate payment of the expenses of pension committees has been put upon the appointing council by No. 25 of the regulations under the Act, and the duty of accounting for expenditure out of such advances is a necessary condition of recovering the amount expended from the Treasury. Under Section 10 (4) of the Act the Treasury has power, independently of regulations, to determine the amount which shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament for the expenses of pension committees. As the hon. Member is aware, however, Regulation 25 is now under reconsideration, and arrangements 515 will be made for relieving the appointing councils of the duties in question.