Civil list

A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom the Civil List is the sum that covers most expenses associated with the Sovereign performing of his or her state duties, including those for staffing, state visits, public engagements, official entertainment, and upkeep of the Royal Households.

History

Following the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, the expenses relating to the support of the monarch were separated from the ordinary expenses of the state. This was a reaction to the reigns of Charles II of England and James II of England, whose large revenues had made them independent of parliament.

In 1697 the parliament of William and Mary fixed the crown's peacetime revenue at £1,200,000 per year; of this about £700,000 was appropriated towards the Civil List. The sovereign was expected to use this to defray the expenses of the civil service (such as judges' and ambassadors' salaries) and the payment of pensions, as well as the expenses of the royal household and his own personal expenses. It was from this that the term "civil list" arose, to distinguish it from the statement of military and naval charges.

George III's accession to the throne in 1760 marked a significant change in royal finances. It was decided that the entire cost of the Civil List should be paid by Parliament in return for the monarch surrendering his hereditary revenues from the Crown Estate to Parliament for the duration of his reign. He however retained the income from the Duchy of Lancaster.

On the accession of William IV in 1830, the sum voted to the Civil List was restricted to the personal expenses of the crown.

Present day

The Crown Estate is now a statutory corporation run on commercial lines by the Crown Estate Commissioners and generates revenue of around £190 million for HM Treasury every year, greatly exceeding the costs of the Civil List.^[1] For example, it owns much of Regent Street in London. Despite this, the Civil List is set to be exhausted by 2012.^[2]

In 2000, a £35.3 million reserve was carried over from the 1990-2000 Civil List. The reserve was created from surpluses caused by low inflation and the efforts of the Queen and her staff to make the palace more efficient. For the period of 2000 - 2010, the Civil List has continued to be fixed at £7,900,000 annually, the same as was established during 1990.

Only the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh receive funding from the Civil List. The Duke receives £359,000 per year. The state duties and staff of other members of the Royal Family are funded from a Parliamentary Annuity, the amount of which is repaid by the Queen from the monies put into the Privy Purse from income from the Duchy of Lancaster. The money repaid by the Queen can be claimed against her personal tax bill however. Money from the Privy Purse also goes towards royal charities, including the Chapel Royal. Private personal expenditure is met from private sources of income. The Treasury has the power to appoint a Civil List Auditor under the Civil List Audit Act 1816 and under section 9 of that Act the Treasury is required to prepare a full and complete code of instructions for the guidance of the conduct of such auditor, these instructions were most recently issued on 25 September 2005.^[3][4]

Canada

In Canada the civil list was a common term during the pre-confederation period when it caused much controversy. The Canadian civil list referred to the payment for all officials on the government payroll. There was much controversy as to whether the list would be controlled by the Governor or by the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly demanded control of all money matters, while the Governors worried that if the Assembly was given this power then certain positions would be delisted. Eventually under the Baldwin-Lafontaine government a compromise was reached with Lord Elgin.

The term civil list is no longer commonly used to describe the payment of civil servants in Canada.

New Zealand

The Civil List Act 1979 describes the funds provided for the Governor-General, Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament.

Morocco

Article 22 of the 1996 Amended Moroccan Constitution guarantees that the King shall be entitled to a civil list.^{[citation needed] [5]}

References

External links

• BBC Royal Accounts 2002
• The price of monarchy: two pints of milk (Stephen Bates, Guardian, 25 June 2004)
• Royal financial reports 2003/2004 (royal.gov.uk)
• Civil List (royal.gov.uk)