Mr. Robert Watt:

Yes and the OPW has a better register and other parts of the system have a better sense of what we have. In the case of many old schools, for example, there is no value to them. They are old buildings that served as schools 30 or 40 years ago. They will no longer provide a modern purpose, whether as an educational facility or as anything else. Many of the older buildings, if they were set up for a particular purpose and the purpose is very different now, they do not have much value. The land may have value, depending on where it is located. It is a good point and it comes back to the wider matter in the Comptroller and Auditor General report in terms of how we treat capital assets.

The nature of an appropriation account is a cash base, which is the main focus of Departments and Accounting Officers. If we had full accrual system and charged Departments for the use of assets every year, there would be a very clear benefit in maximising the use of those assets. Currently, they are not penalised for inefficient use of capital assets. It is really part of the benefit of moving in the direction mentioned by the Comptroller and Auditor General. If we have a better register and valuation of assets, and if we account for them properly over time, we can provide the right incentives for Accounting Officers to see their assets as something they should manage and maintain on an annual basis as opposed to just leaving them there because it reflects the investment of the past rather than investment or expenditure at the moment.