§ Mr. Fortescueasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what use his Department makes of the National Giro for regular payments of salaries and pensions, and for other purposes; and, in view of the under-used capacity of the Giro, whether he will consider using it more.
§ Mr. Ross:The National Giro Service for payment of monthly salaries is available to the staff of my departments at their option. It is intended to make it similarly available to weekly paid staff.
A Giro Account for certain other payments is operated by the Scottish Home and Health Department, and a Receipts Account by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland.
My departments are fully aware of the facilities available from National Giro. In considering whether to use Giro or other methods of payment, they must, of course, have regard to the circumstances of each case and take account of such factors as economy, efficiency and convenience.