Appropriation Act 1955

1 Issue of 2,451,986,045 out of the Consolidated Fund for the service of the year ending 31st March, 1956

1. The Treasury may issue out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom, and apply towards making good the supply granted to Her Majesty for the service of the year ending on the thirty-first day of March, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-six, the sum of two thousand four hundred and fifty-one million, nine hundred and eighty-six thousand, and forty-five pounds.

2 Power for the Treasury to borrow.

(1) The Treasury may borrow from any person, by the issue of Treasury Bills or otherwise, and the Bank of England and the Bank of Ireland may advance to the Treasury on the credit of the said sum, any sum or sums not exceeding in the whole two thousand four hundred and fifty-one million, nine hundred and eighty-six thousand, and forty-five pounds.

(2) The date of payment of any Treasury Bills issued under this section shall be a date not later than the thirty-first day of March, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-six, and section six of the Treasury Bills Act, 1877 (which relates to the renewal of bills) shall not apply with respect to those bills.

(3) Any money borrowed otherwise than on Treasury Bills shall be repaid, with interest not exceeding three pounds per cent. per annum, out of the Consolidated Fund, at any period not later than the next succeeding quarter to that in which the money was borrowed.

(4) Any money borrowed under this section shall be placed to the credit of the account of the Exchequer, and shall form part of the said Consolidated Fund, and be available in any manner in which such Fund is available.

3 Appropriation of sums voted for supply services.

3. All sums granted by this Act and the other Act mentioned in Schedule (A) annexed to this Act out of the said Consolidated Fund towards making good the supply granted to Her Majesty amounting, as appears by the said schedule, in the aggregate, to the sum of four thousand one hundred and fifty-eight million, five hundred and forty-nine thousand and five pounds, seven shillings and eleven pence are appropriated, and shall be deemed to have been appropriated as from the date of the passing of the Acts mentioned in the said Schedule (A), for the services and purposes expressed in Schedule (B) annexed hereto.

The abstract of schedules and schedules annexed hereto, with the notes (if any) to such schedules, shall be deemed to be part of this Act in the same manner as if they had been contained in the body thereof.

In addition to the said sums granted out of the Consolidated Fund, there may be applied out of any money directed, under section two of the Public Accounts and Charges Act, 1891, to be applied as appropriations in aid of the grants for the services and purposes specified in Schedule (B) annexed hereto the sums respectively set forth in the last column of the said schedule.

4 Sanction of Treasury for temporary application of surpluses on certain votes for Navy, Army, and Air Services, to meet deficiencies on other votes for the same service.

(1) So long as the aggregate expenditure on Navy, Army, and Air Services respectively is not made to exceed the aggregate sums appropriated by this Act for those services respectively, any surplus arising on any vote for those services either by an excess of the sum realised on account of appropriations in aid of the vote over the sum which may be applied under this Act as appropriations in aid of that vote, or by saving of expenditure on that vote, may, with the sanction of the Treasury, be temporarily applied either in making up any deficiency in the sums realised on account of appropriations in aid of any other vote in the same department, or in defraying expenditure in the same department which is not provided for in the sums appropriated to the service of the department by this Act, and which it may be detrimental to the public service to postpone until provision can be made for it by Parliament in the usual course.

(2) A statement showing all cases in which the sanction of the Treasury has been given to the temporary application of a surplus under this section, and showing the circumstances under which the sanction of the Treasury has been given, shall be laid before the House of Commons with the appropriation accounts of the Navy, Army, and Air Services for the year, in order that any temporary application of any surplus sanctioned by the Treasury under this section may be submitted for the sanction of Parliament.

5 Declaration required in certain cases before receipt of sums appropriated.

(1) A person shall not receive any payment out of a grant which may be made in pursuance of this Act for half-pay or Navy, Army, Air, or Civil non-effective services, until he has subscribed such declaration as may from time to time be prescribed by a warrant of the Treasury before one of the persons prescribed by the warrant:

Provided that the Treasury may dispense with the production of a declaration under this section in respect of any payment if either—

(a ) such a declaration has been subscribed within a period of twelve calendar months preceding the date of the payment, or such longer period as the Treasury may in any particular case or class of cases allow; or

(b ) the payment is made through a banker who has entered into an undertaking in such form as may be approved by the Treasury with respect to the notification of circumstances coming to the knowledge of the banker which might affect the right to such payments of the person to whom the payment is made.

(2) Any person who makes a declaration for the purpose of this section knowing the same to be untrue in any material particular shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

6 Short title.

6. This Act may be cited for all purposes as theAppropriation Act, 1955.