19 November 1999
Puk is the controversial successor body to the Treasury Taskforce and is expected to come into force next spring (see page 15). Under the proposals, the state is expected to take a maximum 49% stake in Puk with private sector capital accounting for the rest.
The Government Resources and Accounting bill, announced in this week's Queen's Speech, also included plans to move Whitehall departments towards a resource budgeting system.
This will allow departments to plan and control public expenditure on a resource accounting basis. Treasury officials said the switch would lead to a better allocation of resources and 'help taxpayers to see what they are getting for their money'.
The bill is the culmination of plans, first mooted in 1994 by the previous Conservative government, to bring resource accounting into Whitehall.
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