§ 108. Mr. Errollasked the President of the Board of Trade the functions of the Finance Division of his Department; and why it is necessary for this division to employ 140 people.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftThe Finance Division of the Board of Trade assists the Permanent Secretary in the discharge of his duties as Accounting Officer by exercising supervision over the financial policy and transactions of the Board, and applying the necessary controls over expenditure from voted money and issues from the Consolidated Fund. My hon. Friend will, therefore, appreciate that the functions of the Finance Division are quite different from the investigations carried out by the Accountants Division, and I am satisfied that the staff employed is required to carry out these duties.
§ 109. Mr. Errollasked the President of the Board of Trade the duties of the Accounts Division of his Department.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftI regret that the printed Civil Estimates for 1952–53 contain a misprint and what is described as the Accounts Division should have been described as the Accountants Division. This Division carries out all accounting investigations required by the Board, by the Monopolies Commission and the Development Area Treasury Advisory Committee.