§ Brought from the Commons; and read 1a.
§ Then, Standing Order No. XXXIX having been suspended:
§ 3.39 p.m.
§ LORD TEMPLEMOREMy Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. Under the present procedure, 1029 laid down by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866, for making funds available to meet charges on the Exchequer, the Treasury has to make a requisition to the Comptroller and Auditor-General for "credits" of the corresponding amounts, and the Bank of England cannot honour the Treasury's drafts on the Exchequer until the Comptroller and Auditor-General has informed the Bank that he has granted such "credits." The object of this procedure is to give the Comptroller and Auditor-General opportunity to satisfy himself, before any payment is made from the Exchequer, that, firstly, in the case of Consolidated Fund Services, the payment is supported by statutory authority; and, secondly, in the case of Supply Services, the payment is within the total of the Ways and Means granted to the Treasury by Parliament. This is contained in Clause 1.
Under the conditions of modern warfare, and particularly if either the Treasury or the Exchequer and Audit Department are evacuated, as possibly might have to be done, it is quite possible that communication with the Comptroller and Auditor-General might be seriously delayed or interrupted, and the observance of the normal procedure of granting "credits" might involve serious dislocation of the financial machinery of the Government. The Treasury and the Comptroller and Auditor-General are therefore agreed that it is very desirable that the normal procedure should be dispensed with temporarily as soon as conditions shall require. Clause 1 of the Bill carries this proposal into effect, but it will be noted that under Clause 3 the Act does not come into force until such date as His Majesty may appoint by Order in Council declaring that the circumstances render it expedient in the public interest to put it into force. The object of this delay is to assure Parliament that the Treasury will not avail itself of the new procedure possible under the Bill unless war conditions make it absolutely necessary.
The present procedure is, of course, of very long standing, and questions may be asked whether it does not derogate seriously from the effectiveness of the controls which have been imposed on the Executive in the interests of Parliament. The answer is that this particular control by the Comptroller and Auditor- 1030 General has less practical significance than any others. The primary safeguard on which Parliament relies is the Comptroller and Auditor-General's audit of payments after they have been made, and this audit will be in no way affected by the present proposals. I may point out that under Clause 3 of the Bill the House of Commons has the right to bring the emergency arrangements to an end by Resolution whenever it so desires. I hope that is a sufficient explanation under the circumstances of this very technical Bill, and I beg to move that it be now read a second time.
§ Moved, That the Bill be now read 2a.—(Lord Templemore.)
§ VISCOUNT SAMUELMay I ask whether the noble Lord is able to say whether this procedure was adopted in the last War?
§ LORD TEMPLEMOREI am afraid I cannot say.
§ On Question, Bill read 2a: Committee negatived.
§ Bill read 3a, and passed, and a Message sent to the Commons to acquaint them therewith.