Vol. 449 No. 5
10 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Defence the proposals, if any, he has to make the Army Chief of Staff the Accounting Officer for the Defence Vote and accountable for this expenditure to the Committee of Public Accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1914/95]
16 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Defence the proposals, if any, he has to make the Army Chief of Staff the Accounting Officer for the Defence Vote and accountable for this expenditure to the Committee of Public Accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3983/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 16 together.
There are no proposals to make the chief of staff the Accounting Officer for the Defence Vote. This matter was considered in 1993 when the Government decided that the secretary of the Department should continue to be the Accounting Officer for the Defence Vote and that greater financial authority should be delegated to the military authorities.
Substantial progress has been made in implementing the policy of financial delegation.In 1995, the military authorities will administer expenditure of approximately £55 million. This amounts to approximately half of discretionary spending under the Defence Vote. This process will continue.
