Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1950 > Committee of Public Accounts > Interim and Final Report - Appropriation Accounts 1947 - 1948

APPENDIX XXVI.

SUPPLY OF MILK TO NECESSITOUS CHILDREN

Runai,

Coiste um Chuntais Phoibli.

Attached for the information of the Committee of Public Accounts is a return showing the Local Authorities which did not expend in full their allocation of Grants in respect of the Supply of Milk to Necessitous Children during the financial year 1947/48. This information was requested by the Committee during the course of my examination on the Appropriation Account of the Vote for Health for the year 1947/48. I have also attached, for the information of the Committee, a short statement explaining the manner in which this Scheme was operated.

Under the scheme the aggregate grant is allocated for each year amongst the local authorities participating and admissible expenditure in each case is recouped up to the limits of allocation. During each financial year two advance issues approximating to 95 per cent. of the total expenditure (within the limit of the allocation) are made, and the balance is paid after the close of the year when the actual expenditure has been determined by the Local Government auditor. The charges to the subhead in any year, therefore, are made up of payments for that year and balances in respect of previous years. Any overpayments of grant revealed by the audit are set off against issues for a subsequent year.

The charge to the subhead for the year 1947/48 is made up of net issues amounting to £381 10s. 5d., £2,168 2s., and £96,476 5s. 5d., in respect of grants for the years 1945/46, 1946/47 and 1947/48, respectively. The balances of the 1947/48 grants, which will be charged in the accounts for the year 1948/49 and subsequent years, will, for any authorities whose expenditure is within the individual allocations, be based on the figures shown on the accompanying schedule. For the remaining authorities the maximum grant will be paid, and in every case the grant will be subject to adjustment for any over-issue in a previous year.

As will be seen from the attached statement, fifty Local Authorities, amongst which a total of £44,165 was allocated in respect of the year 1947/48, underspent this allocation to the extent of £2,942 10s. In addition there were thirty-nine Local Authorities, who between them were allocated £60,835 of the total Grant of £105,000, and in each case their admissible expenditure was equal to, or greater than, their individual grant. The net effect is that a sum of £102,057 10s. has been or will be, recouped to local authorities in respect of expenditure under the Scheme for the year 1947/48. This sum is represented by net amounts of £96,476 5s. 5d., £3,909 6s. 3d., and £416 18s. 4d., charged or to be charged in the Accounts for the years 1947/48, 1948/49 and 1949/50 after offsetting over-issues in respect of previous years, amounting to £1,255.

GRANTS FOR THE SUPPLY OF MILK TO NECESSITOUS CHILDREN.

List of Local Authorities which did not expend in full the Grants Allocated to them in respect of the Supply of Milk to Necessitous Children during the financial year, 1947/48.

(a) Estimated. Audit not yet completed.