(Acquired under Section 3 of the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act, 1919). In pursuance of the powers conferred upon it by Section 3 of the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act, 1919, the Ministry leased this farm, which comprises a house, buildings, and about 198 acres of land, from Trinity College, Cambridge, for a period of 14 years from Michaelmas, 1921, for the purpose of meeting a demand for small holdings on the part of certain approved applicants to the Cambridgeshire County Council, that would otherwise have remained unsatisfied. This is the only case in which the Ministry exercised its concurrent powers under Section 3 of the Act of 1919, of providing land for settlement, and the Section has now been repealed by the Expiring Laws Act, 1922. PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 1925. Rates ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Headquarters Administrative Expenses (b) Annual Instalment of Capital Expenditure written off (c) Interest on Capital (d) Sundry Expenses £659 9 8 £659 9 8 (a) Estimated premium to cover damage to fixtures by fire. Under the terms of the lease the Ministry is not liable for the insurance of the buildings. (b) The charge for Headquarters administrative expenses is an estimated figure. (c) The capital expenditure by the Ministry is being written off over the term of the lease (14 years). (d) Interest on capital expenditure is calculated at minimum Local Loans rates in force when the expenditure was incurred, and on current account at the average Bank of England rate during the period of account. I have examined the above Account and Balance Sheet in accordance with the provisions of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1921. I have obtained all the information and explanations that I have required, and I certify, as the result of my audit, that in my opinion this Account and Balance Sheet are properly drawn up so as to exhibit a true and correct view of the transactions and state of affairs of the undertaking. Malcolm G. Ramsay, Comptroller and Auditor General. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES. BOSBURY (BUCHANAN TRUST) ESTATE. This estate, the land for which was given by the late Mr. R. Buchanan, is managed by the Ministry under the provisions of the Sailors and Soldiers (Gifts for Land Settlement) Act, 1916, and is administered in most respects on similar lines to the settlements acquired under the Small Holding Colonies Acts. When acquired the estate comprised 758 acres. Some 76 acres have been disposed of as surplus to the requirements of the Trust, and the area now forming the Trust estate is 682 acres. Particulars of the development of the estate were given in the foreword to the accounts for 1923-24. The Trust is not financed from the Small Holdings Account, as in the case of Farm Settlements. The capital expenditure incurred, including losses, to 31 March 1922, has been met by a direct loan from the Exchequer, of which £15,000 bears interest at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, the balance of the loan being free of interest. From 1 April 1921, the Trust is required to pay in cash to the Exchequer the annual interest charge of £825 from the surplus revenue available after all other outgoings have been met. The following table shows the revenue cash receipts and payments in the three years during which the Trust has been administered under the arrangement set out in the preceding paragraph, and it will be seen that the cash balance on 31 March 1925 amounted to £348 1s. 9d. Balance Sheet, 1924-25.-Of the total loss of £12,973 shown in the Balance Sheet, no less than £10,249 was incurred in the 3 years to 1 April 1922, during which the estate was managed as a central farm with a surrounding group of small holdings. The loss during the three years 1922-23, 1923-24, and 1924-25, after taking into account a repayment by the Inland Revenue of £162 for income tax, amounted to £2,724. The greater part of * Two years' interest on the Exchequer loan was paid in 1923-24. this loss is accounted for by the inclusion during the same years of a charge of £2,262 (part of the figure of £2,992 shown in the Balance Sheet) for Buildings Depreciation Account. This item will figure in the annual profit and loss account every year, with the result that this account will show a loss even in the event of the Trust showing an equation of cash receipts and payments in its revenue account. (Acquired as a gift under the Sailors and Soldiers (Gifts for Land Settlement) Act, 1916.) ESTATE PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT FOR YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 1925. (a) Estimated premium to cover Workmen's Compensation, and loss of buildings, &c., by fire. (b) The charge for Headquarters administrative expenses is an estimated figure. (c) Under the terms of Treasury letter S/3189 of 28 June 1922, interest at 5 per cent. per annum on £15,000 of the Exchequer loan is to be paid for a period of five years from 1 April 1921. The above charge represents such interest for the current year of account. (d) Calculated at rates based on the life of buildings acquired or erected by the Ministry, as estimated by the Ministry's Director of Land Acquisition and Disposal. |