Parliamentary Accountability and Audit Report
Published 9 June 2022
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This information has been subject to audit.
Fees and charges
An analysis of the department’s income and associated costs is shown below. Charges for the provision of legal services and administration services to Bona Vacantia Division are set to recover full costs in accordance with HMT’s guidance on fees and charges set out in Managing Public Money. This analysis is not for IFRS 8 purposes.
| Income £000 | Vote funding £000 | 2021-22 Full cost £000 | Surplus / (deficit) £000 | Income £000 | Vote funding £000 | Full cost £000 | 2020-21 Surplus / (deficit) £000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal fees and charges to clients | 283,180 | - | 271,551 | 11,629 | 260,624 | - | 257,173 | 3,451 |
| Bona Vacantia | 4,865 | - | 4,865 | - | 4,811 | - | 4,811 | - |
| Other income | 3,188 | - | 3,188 | - | 3,198 | - | 3,198 | - |
| Non-chargeable work | - | 290 | 290 | - | - | 254 | 254 | - |
| Total | 291,233 | 290 | 279,894 | 11,629 | 268,633 | 254 | 265,436 | 3,451 |
‘Bona Vacantia” relates to income charged for administering bona vacantia (ownerless assets in respect of dissolved companies and intestate estates). ‘Other income’ is primarily related to recoveries for subscription costs and ICT services provided to other government departments. Vote funding relates to Public Interest legal work. In accordance with HMT’s guidance a notional cost of capital charge £676k (2020-21: £792k) is included for setting fees and charges and is also reflected in full cost figures for this analysis. The notional cost of capital is not recognized in the financial statements. The cost of capital charge is calculated at the real rate set by HMT (currently 3.5%) on the average carrying amount of all assets less liabilities, except for cash balances held with the Government Banking Service.
Remote contingent liabilities
The department has no contingent liabilities that need to be disclosed under Parliamentary reporting requirements.
Losses and special payments
HMT’s publication - Managing Public Money - requires a statement showing losses and special payments by value and by type to be shown where they exceed £300k in total, and those individually that exceed £300k. There are no significant losses and special payments that need to be reported in accordance with Managing Public Money.
Long term expenditure trends
This information is not subject to audit. Our planned net expenditure as agreed with HMT is as follows. This covers the costs that are not recovered from our clients, but which are met from the Parliamentary Estimate.
| £m | 2022-23* | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEL Resource | 2.27 | 2.09 | 2.09 |
| DEL Capital | 2.85 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
*The 2022-23 figures include budgeting adjustments agreed with HMT relating to IFRS 16 adoption. 2023-24 and 2024-25 figures have not been adjusted for IFRS 16.
The Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) Resource funding for 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 is to cover the costs of public interest casework (Letters of Request and Vesting Orders in Chancery). The DEL Capital funding allows us to invest in improving and developing systems to support our operations and to meet our accommodation requirements.
Susanna McGibbon
Accounting Officer
27 May 2022