Development Loans (Agriculture and Fisheries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 (repealed)

4 Accounts and operation of the Agricultural Loans Fund. N.I.

(1) The Ministry shall keep such annual accounts of the Agricultural Loans Fund in such form as the Ministry of Finance may from time to time approve, and such accounts shall distinguish the receipts and payments of that Fund in respect of capital and in respect of income.

(2) The income account of the Agricultural Loans Fund shall be charged with—

(a) the interest on advances to that Fund from the Consolidated Fund or from the Government Loans Fund (as the case may be); and

(b) the payment of such expenses in connection with the administration of the Agricultural Loans Fund as the Ministry of Finance may approve.

(3) If it is shown by the income account mentioned in sub-section (2)—

(a) that the income in respect of any financial year is in excess of the expenditure incurred in that year, the amount of the excess or so much thereof as the Ministry of Finance may approve may be retained in the income account as a working balance, but, save as aforesaid, the amount of such excess shall be paid into the Exchequer; or

(b) that the income in any financial year is less than the expenditure incurred in that year a sum equal to the amount of the deficiency shall be paid to the credit of the income account out of moneys provided by Parliament.

(4) Where the Ministry recommends that the whole or any part of the principal of any loan made to a borrower from the Agricultural Loans Fund should be written off from the capital account of that Fund by reason of the same not being likely to be recovered, the Ministry of Finance may direct that such amount shall be written off, and the amount of such principal so written off shall be paid to the credit of the Agricultural Loans Fund out of moneys provided by Parliament: but nothing in this subsection shall alter the liability of any borrower or surety to repay the principal of, or interest on, any such loan or part thereof and any sum afterwards recovered whether for principal or interest in respect of the amount so written off shall be paid into the Exchequer.

(5) Accounts kept under subsection (1) shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General and shall, together with his report thereon, be laid before Parliament.

(6) The Ministry shall lay annually before Parliament with the accounts of the Agricultural Loans Fund a statement of all losses met out of moneys provided by Parliament whether in respect of the principal of any loan written off by direction of the Ministry of Finance, or in respect of a deficiency in the income account of the Agricultural Loans Fund.