NOTES TO TABLES I., II., AND III. [MEM. In this return the figures for the years 1916-17 to 1921-22 have been revised. When money raised by one form of Floating Debt (e.g., Treasury Bills) has been used to repay another form (e.g., Ways and Means Advances) the transaction has been ignored, with the result that the figures in Columns 9, 11 and 12 of Tables I. and III. have been considerably reduced. Those in Column 13 are, of course, not affected.] (a) 26,558,9591. cancelled under the National Debt and Local Loans Act, 1887, Local Loans Stock being created in its place. (b) 21,000,000l. was temporarily borrowed on the credit of Ways and Means owing to the delay in passing the Finance Act for 1909–10. The whole amount was repaid by the 30th September, 1910. (c) Includes 170,143,3137. issued under section 1 (5) of the War Loan Act, 1915. (d) Includes 177,113,5297. cancelled under section 1 (5) of the War Loan Act, 1915, and 401,904,5097. cancelled on conversion into 4 per cent. War Loan under section 1 (3) of that Act, of which 35,795,490l. was exchanged on account of Savings Banks Funds. (e) Includes 313,635,2731. 44 per cent. War Loan created in respect of conversions under the War Loan Act, 1915, of which 23,863,660l. was in exchange for Stock cancelled on account of Savings Banks Funds. (f) Includes 1,075,300,128l. cancelled on conversion into 5 per cent. and 4 per cent. War Loans under the War Loan Act, 1916. (g) Includes 1,130,319,1347. 5 per cent. and 4 per cent. War Loans created in respect of the foregoing conversion. (h) Includes 83,288,6867. in 1918-19, 82,601,955l. in 1919-20 and 6,116,0241. in 1920-21 in respect of Canadian Government dollar advances set off against corresponding sums due to the Imperial Government. (Cd. 9234 of 1919; 583, 616, and 651 of 1920.) (k) This item includes instalments of the 5 per cent. and 4 per cent. War Loan not due until after 31st March, 1917, as well as approximately 157,000,0007. Ways and Means advances borrowed before that date in anticipation of those instalments. Further, it treats conversions connected with those Loans as having been carried through by 31st March 1917, although they were not actually completed until after that date. (1) Includes from 1920-21 onwards Funding Loan and Victory Bonds tendered for Death Duties under 9 & 10 Geo. V., c. 37, and held by the National Debt Commissioners until drawn or paid off. The amount so held on 1st April v 1923 was 30,163,2217. (m) The issue of Funding Loan and Victory Bonds at a discount, the conversion of 5 per cent. Bonds, &c., into 3 per cent. Conversion Loan and the capitalization of arrears of interest on the U.S.A. Loan, tended to increase the figures for nominal debt in the years 1919-20 to 1922-33 in Columns 11, 12 and 13. *The total amount applicable to reduction of Liabilities is not in all cases applied within the year. In the case of Dead Weight Debt the National Debt Commissioners may not be able to effect purchases of stock, &c., immediately on receipt of the money, but the cash balances in their hands at the end of the year are applied in the following year, except in the case of the Depreciation Fund, which is applied as directed by section 32 of the Finance Act, 1917. In the case of Other Capital Liabilities, the sums paid from Army and Navy Votes for redemption of the Exchequer Bonds issued under the Capital Expenditure (Money) Act, 1904, and those paid from the Post Office Vote for the redemption of Exchequer Bonds issued under the Telephone Transfer Act, 1911, are paid to the National Debt Commissioners and are by them invested and accumulated until the Bonds mature or can be purchased. The debt created under the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (Acquisition of Capital) Amendment Act, 1919, in connection with the purchase of further shares in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, is to be repaid by the application of the balance of dividends received on the holding after paying the interest on the debt outstanding. The issues on this account are included in Table II., Column 8. In this column are also included the repayments from the Unemployment Fund, which are issued to the National Debt Commissioners in reduction of the amounts borrowed under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1921. Col. 10, Tables I., II. and III. shows the amount of cash actually applied within the year. Printed under the authority of HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE 1 RETURN showing (1) the Aggregate GROSS LIABILITIES of the STATE as represented by the NOMINAL FUNDED DEBT, ESTIMATED CAPITAL LIABILITY in respect of TERMINABLE ANNUITIES, UNFUNDED DEBT and other LIABILITIES in respect of DEBT, the Estimated ASSETS, and the EXCHEQUER BALANCES at the close of each Financial Year, from 1913-14 to 1922-23, both inclusive, and (2) the Gross and Net EXPENDITURE charged annually during that period against the PUBLIC REVENUE on Account of the NATIONAL DEBT, and other PAYMENTS Connected with Capital LiabilitIES (in continuation of Parliamentary Paper [Cmd. 1781], of Session 1923). Presented to the House of Commons by Command PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE To be purchased through any Bookseller or directly from H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses: Imperial House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2, and 28, Abingdon Street, London, S.W.1; York Street, Manchester; 1, St. Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff; or 120, George Street, Edinburgh. Price 6d. net. Cmd. 1924. PREFATORY NOTES. I. Part I. of this Return is an Account of the direct liabilities of the State outstanding at the close of each financial year from 1913-14. It shows not only the amount of Funded Debt, the estimated liability in respect of Terminable Annuities, and the amount of the unfunded Debt, but likewise any other liabilities which may be regarded as proper additions to be made in a statement of the total indebtedness of the nation. The Account also gives those Assets of the State which admit of being calculated, such as sums advanced out of the Exchequer and repayable, the estimated capital value of the Suez Canal Shares, and the Balance in the Exchequer. Assets arising out of the European War (such as loans to Allies and Dominions, stocks of commodities, &c.), are, however, not included in the account. II. Part II. of this Return is an Account of the total issues made in connection with capital liabilities in each year from 1913–14, which have been charged against the Revenue. The account, moreover, gives any receipts which are cognate to Debt Services, and thus it shows the true charge in each year on the taxpayer in respect of the interest of the Debt and of repayments of capital. The details of these issues and receipts in 1922-23 will be found in Appendix III. The issues charged against the Revenue of the year do not, however, comprise all the Cash transactions affecting capital liabilities. Accordingly a further account is given in Appendix II., which adds to those issues, (1) the amount of the Old Sinking Fund (if any) representing the surplus of the preceding year, (2) all sums taken out of the Exchequer balance (including for the years 1918-19 to 1921-22 the Depreciation Fund under the Finance Act, 1917) which have been issued for Debt purposes, and (3) any other sums which, though not forming part of the Revenue, have gone to the discharge of Debt (like Composition in respect of Stamp Duty and Land Tax Redemption). The same Appendix also shows the amount raised by creation of Debt, in order that the net result of the Debt transactions in Cash may be ascertained. In correspondence with the account of the capital liabilities (Part I.), which states the amount of the Exchequer balance at the end of the year, supplementary columns are added to Appendix II. to show by how much the balance and other assets have been increased or decreased in the year. Notwithstanding that all such transactions are included in Appendix II., it will be found that the amount by which the net liabilities varied does not correspond with the difference between the amount of money applied in redemption of Debt, and the amount raised by creation of Debt. In the first place, a given amount of Cash will cancel either a larger or smaller amount of Stock, according as the Stock stands below or above par. In the second place, the full amount issued to the National Debt Commissioners in one year for redemption of Debt may not be actually so applied until the next year, as they do not always effect their purchases of Stock immediately on the receipt of the money. Moreover, in the case of issues to the National Debt Commissioners for the purchase from the Inland Revenue Commissioners of Funding Loan and Victory Bonds tendered for Death Duties, the Stock and Bonds so purchased cannot, in consequence of the conditions of the loans, be immediately cancelled, but must be held by the National Debt Commissioners until cancelled by the operation of the Special Sinking Funds of the loans. In the third place, Stock may be issued at a discount or the full consideration money for the Debt created in one year may not be received till after the close of that year. Finally, conversions occasion an increase or decrease in the Debt according as the value of the converted security is above or below that of the security created in its place. (11309) Wt.10511/562 1,125 1/24 Harrow G.62/46 A 2 III. The other Appendices to the Return are as follows: Appendix I. which shows in detail the gross capital liabilities, and estimated assets of the State for the latest year. Appendix IV. contains brief notes on the principal operations of the Debt from the year 1900-01 onwards. IV. It will be seen from Part I. (p. 9), that the Gross Liabilities of the State amounted on the 31st March, 1922 to and on the 31st March, 1923, to £ 7,742,526,147 7,842,725,746 There was therefore a net increase in the nominal debt of £100,199,599 This net increase of Liabilities which took place in 1922-23 is to be explained as follows: Funded Debt. The Funded Debt was increased by the creation in And reduced by the following means— £ 427,371,765 303,708 9,834,631 10,138,339 £417,233,426 There was therefore a net increase of Terminable Annuities. The estimated capital liability in respect of these Annuities stood on the 31st March, 1922, at And on the 31st March, 1923, at.. There was therefore a net decrease of .. Unfunded Debt. .. £ 16,191,166 |