Sir,
SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY IN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH 1985
Order Paper.
I move the motion standing in my name in the
As is our normal practice, the debate on the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill will be extended into April in order to give Members time to examine the draft Estimates of Expenditure for 1985-86. Thus the enactment of the Appropriation Bill cannot take place before the first day of April. The purpose of this motion is to seek funds on account to enable the Government to carry on existing services between the start of the financial year on 1 April 1985 and the enactment of the Appropriation Bill consequent on the decisions of this Council.
The funds on account sought under each head have been determined in accordance with paragraph three of the Resolution. This paragraph provides that expenditure shall be arranged in accordance with the subheads in the draft Estimates of Expenditure 1985-86. It also enables the Financial Secretary to vary the funds on account in respect of any subhead, provided that these variations do not cause an excess over the amount of provision entered for that subhead in the draft Estimates or an excess over the amount of funds on account for the head.
A Vote on Account Warrant will be issued to the Director of Accounting Services authorizing him to make payments up to the amount specified in this motion and in accordance with its conditions. The Vote on Account will be subsumed upon the enactment of the Appropriation Bill, and the General Warrant issued after the enactment of the Appropriation Bill will replace the Vote on Account Warrant and will be effective from 1 April 1985.
Sir, I beg to move.