Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866

Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to consolidate the Duties of the Exchequer and Audit Departments. to regulate the Receipt, Custody, and Issue of Public Moneys, and to provide for the Audit of the Accounts thereof.
Citation29 & 30 Vict. c. 39
Dates
Royal assent28 June 1866
Commencement1 April 1867

The Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866[1] (29 & 30 Vict. c. 39) is the UK Act of Parliament under which most of the revenue from taxation, and all other money payable to the Exchequer, must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[2]

The act "established a cycle of accountability for public funds": Public spending was authorised by the House of Commons while the public fund was controlled by the Comptroller and Auditor General who was also responsible for auditing the financial accounts produced by each government department. The Committee of Public Accounts, which had been established in 1861 by William Gladstone, was appointed to oversee the work of the Comptroller.[3]

  1. ^ This short title was conferred on this Act by section 1 of this Act.
  2. ^ "Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866". The UK Statute Law Database. Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  3. ^ "History of the National Audit Office". National Audit Office. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2012.