XN000022-1971-02-24 — Page 37

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Wednesday, February 24, 1971

EXPENDITURE EXCEEDS ORIGINAL ESTIMATE

Financial Secretry Reviews "Exceptional" 1970/71 Figures

Sir John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary, said today actual

expenditure in 1970/71 would exceed the original estimate

situation.

+

an exceptional

He told the Legislative Council the revised figure was $2,473

million, or $80 million higher than the original. He was not sure that the

revised figure would in fact be reached, but expenditure would not fall more

than $40 million short of it. He gave a number of factors for this "closer

than usual" estimate.

One was the considerable effort made to remove any "surplus fat"

from departmental estimates, and another was the general civil service salary

award of six per cent for Scale I staff, and four per cent for others, extended

as usual to the aided schools and certain subvented bodies. The general upward

movement of prices had also affected departmental spending, most noticeable in the field of capital public works, where the revised estimate was $45 million

above the original.

He believed this increase did represent some acceleration of work,

and also higher tender prices, but not the fill current increase in tendered

prices.

Certain contiming contracts entered into in the earlier months of

the current financial year had been at rates lower than would be tendered today.

The Public Works programe had not yet felt the full effects of the "inflation of building costs we have recently experienced with the increased

strain being put on the industry by private developers."

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