UK Treasury reacts over Prince Andrew’s legal settlement fee
British Treasury has reacted over Prince Andrew’s legal settlement fee and confirmed that no taxpayer funds were used for the multi-million pounds payment to settle Virginia Giuffre lawsuit.
In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Treasury department issued a statement to confirm, “No public money has been used to pay legal or settlement fees. Therefore we can confirm that HM Treasury does not hold information within the scope of your request.
“It might be helpful if we explain that the principles for managing resources in UK public sector organisations are set out in Managing Public Money, which is published by the Treasury.
“It might also be helpful to explain that the Queen receives the Sovereign Grant to fund her official duties as Head of State, and maintain the Occupied Royal Palaces. No member of the Royal Family receives a private income from the Grant or any other public funds.”
The statement further reads: “In return for the Sovereign Grant, the Queen surrenders the revenue from the Crown Estate (which she owns as reigning Monarch) to the government. As a result, over the last 10 years, the Crown Estate has returned a total of £2.9 billion to the Exchequer, through the Consolidated Fund, which has been invested in vital public services such as the NHS, transport, schools and defence, which benefit the UK as a whole.”
The Sovereign Grant Act 2011 ensures that the Royal Household is fully financially accountable, with its accounts audited by the National Audit Office and laid before Parliament each year. This means that the Royal Household’s accounts are held to the same standard of scrutiny and transparency as Government departments.
0 Comments