Speech by the Attorney General, Mr. Michael Thomas, Q.C.,
Prisons (Amendment) Bill 1986
25 June 1986
Sir, I move that the Prisons (Amendment) Bill 1986
be read a second time.
2.
The Bill makes provision for the more efficient
administration of the existing Prisoners' Welfare Donation
Fund.
3.
At present prisoners' welfare donations are administered under a cumbersome and inefficient system.
Donations are credited to a deposit account held by the
Director of Accounting Services but disbursements are charged to an expenditure account under the Correctional Services Department Head of Expenditure. Each month a sum equivalent to that which has been disbursed from the expenditure subhead
has to be transferred from the deposit account to the general
revenue.
4.
Apart from administrative inconvenience, a further drawback of the present system is that the existing Prisoners'
Welfare Donation Fund does not receive the benefit of any
interest that may be paid on the balance held in the account because under the Public Finance Ordinance any interest
received on the deposit forms part of the general revenue.
5.
The present proposal is to establish a statutory
Prisoners' Welfare Fund that would be administered in line
with the Correctional Services Department Welfare Fund. Moneys due to the Prisoners' Welfare Fund would be paid to the Director of Accounting Services who would credit them to an account entitled "Deposits Prisoners' Welfare Fund". The Fund would be managed by the Commissioner of Correctional