2016-2017
Head 05: Office of the Parliament
A SUMMARY OF THE OFFICE OF THE PARLIAMENT’S EXPENDITURE, DIVISIONS AND PROJECTS
FINANCIAL SCRUTINY UNIT, PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
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Table of Contents
About this Guide .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Head 05: Parliament ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Department Overview................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Vision .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Mission........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
2016-2017 Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
Staff and Pay ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
2016-2017 Estimates of Expenditure Head 05 – Parliament ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Summary of Recurrent Expenditure for the period 2011 - 2017 ............................................................................................................................... 9
Analysis of Summary of Expenditure ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Programmes and Projects ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Auditor General Report Findings for the Fiscal Year 2015 ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Internal Audit .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Documents Not Produced ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Expenditure Control ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Overpayments ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
General Useful Information .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
1
About this Guide
This guide provides a summary of expenditure of the Office of the Parliament for the period 2011-2017. The primary purpose of this
guide is to consolidate all of the information contained within the various Budget Documents pertaining to the Office of the Parliament.
This guide is based primarily on the Draft Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure, the Estimate of the Development Programme, and the
Auditor General’s Report on the Public Accounts of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for the fiscal year 2015.
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Head 05: Parliament
Department Overview
The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the arm of State entrusted with the responsibility of making laws for good governance and
providing oversight of the Government (Executive). 1 Trinidad and Tobago follows the Westminster System of government, in that
Members of the Executive are also Members of Parliament and thus attend sittings of the Legislature.2 The Parliament consists of the
President, the Senate and the House of Representatives.3 It is charged with specific responsibilities and its Members and the institution
as a whole are given special powers and privileges to effectively carry out its functions, including:

freedom of speech in Parliament;

the authority to regulate its business by Standing Orders; and

the freedom from civil or criminal proceedings for words spoken or written by Members before their respective House and in
Committee.4
The House of Representatives is made up of the elected representatives of the forty-one (41) constituencies and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, while the Senate consists of thirty-one (31) Senators all appointed by the President. Appointments are made as follows:

sixteen (16) on the advice of the Prime Minister;

six (6) on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition; and

nine (9) (Independent) on the discretion of the President.
The primary objective of the Office of the Parliament is to provide reliable, consistent and professional support services to all Members
of Parliament.
Power to make laws, section 53 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: http://rgd.legalaffairs.gov.tt/Laws2/Constitution.pdf
Office of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, Accessed on August 23rd, 2016: http://www.ttparliament.org/about.php?mid=5
3 Establishment of the Parliament, section 39 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: http://rgd.legalaffairs.gov.tt/Laws2/Constitution.pdf
4Office of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago website, Accessed on August 8 th, 2016: http://www.ttparliament.org/about.php?mid=50
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2
3
Vision
By 2018, to be a modern Parliament that fulfils its constitutional duties to its fullest extent, and effectively serves the people of Trinidad
and Tobago.5
Mission
As the national Legislature of Trinidad & Tobago, its mission is to ensure that Parliament exercises its legislative, oversight, representation
and outreach duties effectively and that Parliament remains the main forum for national political debate. 3
President of Senate - The Honourable Christine Kangaloo
Speaker of the House - The Honourable Bridgid Annisette-George, MP
Clerk of the House (Accounting Officer) – Mrs. Jacqui Sampson-Meiguel
Clerk of the Senate (Ag.) - Mr. Brian Caesar
5
Strategic Plan of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, Accessed on August 23rd, 2016: http://www.ttparliament.org/documents/2218.pdf
4
2016-2017 Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure
The budget allocation for the Office of the Parliament is comprised of:

The Draft Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure in the sum of $119,408,000.00; and

The Draft Estimates of Development Programme – Consolidated Fund in the sum of $6,500,000.00.
The Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure include:

01 Personnel Expenditure - $28,282,000.00;

02 Goods and Services - $89,989,600.00;

03 Minor Equipment Purchases -$370,000.00; and

04 Current Transfers and Subsidies - $766,400.00.
The Estimates of Development Programme are presented in two parts. Part ‘A’ represents the funds appropriated by Parliament and
disbursed directly from the Consolidated Fund and Part ‘B’ represents funds disbursed directly from the Infrastructure Development
Fund. The Office of the Parliament’s total allocation as a percentage of the total Recurrent Expenditure budget and the total Consolidated
Fund budget allocation were 2.21%, and .26% respectively.
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Total Allocation for the Office of the Parliament
$6,500,000.00
$119,408,000.00
Recurrent Expenditure
Consolidated Fund
6
Staff and Pay
The allocation of staff expenditure for the year 2017 is $60,070,000.00 which represents an increase of approximately 5.24% from the last
fiscal year 2016. The diagram presented below provides a breakdown of all staff related expenditure from the years 2015-2017.
Staff and Pay
Total
Employees Assistance Programme
Short-Term Employment
Training
Contract Employment
Travelling and Subsistence
Uniforms
Personnel Expenditure
$-
$50,000,000.00 $100,000,000.00 $150,000,000.00 $200,000,000.00 $250,000,000.00 $300,000,000.00 $350,000,000.00 $400,000,000.00
$1,944,703.00
Employees
Assistance
Programme
$85,032.00
$55,719,221.00
$1,042,000.00
$1,960,000.00
$102,000.00
$57,078,520.00
$24,400,000.00
$250,000.00
$2,000,000.00
$32,000.00
$60,070,000.00
$69,124,811.00
$3,006,735.00
$5,904,703.00
$219,032.00
$172,867,741.00
Personnel
Expenditure
Uniforms
Travelling and
Subsistence
Contract
Employment
Training
Short-Term
Employment
2015 Actual
$26,725,715.00
$405,127.00
$4,124,618.00
$20,719,291.00
$1,714,735.00
2016 Revised Estimate
$25,310,200.00
$140,800.00
$4,518,000.00
$24,005,520.00
2017 Estimate
$28,282,000.00
$206,000.00
$4,900,000.00
Totals
$80,317,915.00
$751,927.00
$13,542,618.00
Total
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2016-2017 Estimates of Expenditure Head 05 – Parliament
* Salaries and
Cost of Living
Allowance
Sub-Head 02
Goods and Services
$89,989,600
*Gov't
Contribution to
NIS-Direct
Charges
* Gov't
Contribution to
NIS and Group
Health
Insurance
* Gov't
Contribution to
Group
Pension-Daily
Rated Wkrs
* Salaries Direct Charges
Sub-Head
O1
Personal
Expenditure
$28,282,000
* Wages and
Cost of Living
Allowance
* AllowancesDirect Charges
* AllowancesMonthly Paid
Officers
Sub-Head 04
Sub-Head 03
Minor Equipment
Purchases
Current
Transfers& Subsidies
$766,400
$370,000
*Overtime-Daily Rated
Workers
*Overtime-Monthly
Paid Officers
*Vacant Posts
Note

$125,908,000 for Head 05 – Parliament is issued from the Consolidated Fund for meeting the expenditure
for the service of Trinidad and Tobago for the Financial Year ending on the 30.09.2017.
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Summary of Recurrent Expenditure for the period 2011 - 2017
Thousands
Office of the Parliament
120,000
100,000
Dollars
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2011 Actual
2012 Actual
2013 Actual
2014 Actual
2015 Actual
2016 Revised
Estimate
2017 Estimate
01 Personnel Expenditure
17,601,450
17,189,818
19,398,884
25,945,866
26,725,715
25,310,200
28,282,000
02 Goods and Services
75,730,323
89,950,327
85,544,980
91,843,290
98,443,004
100,034,553
89,989,600
03 Minor Equipment Purchases
5,987,382
9,526,509
4,526,908
5,539,802
7,822,126
3,470,000
370,000
382,222
519,299
549,693
679,712
508,937
879,000
766,400
04 Current Transfers and Subsidies
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Analysis of Summary of Expenditure
Year
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Total Allocation
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
137859,728.00
173923,396.00
134092,169.00
152985,431.00
153010,362.00
150139,653.00
125908,000.00
National Budget
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
58025963,057.00
59402159,722.00
64320728,236.00
69825729,627.00
65551084,430.00
57274282,164.00
59200398,031.00
Percentage of
National Budget
0.24%
0.29%
0.21%
0.22%
0.23%
0.26%
0.21%
 Recurrent Expenditure refers to the payments for expenses which are incurred during the day-to-day operations of the Office of
the Parliament for Personnel Expenditure, Goods and Services, Minor Equipment Purchases and Current Transfers and Subsidies.
Recurrent Expenditure for Fiscal Year 2016/2017 is $119,408,000. This represents .22% of the total Recurrent Expenditure for the
financial year 2016/2017.
 Recurrent Expenditure for Fiscal Year 2015/2016 was $129,693,753 (revised). Comparing this figure with Fiscal Year 2016/2017,
there is a decrease of 7.9%
 A larger portion of the Office of the Parliament’s allocation has consistently gone to sub head 02 – Goods and Services which has
been fluctuating over the period 2011 to 2017.
 In 2017 Personnel Expenditure represented 24% of the Parliament’s total recurrent allocation.
 The smallest portion of the allocation has consistently been allocated to Current Transfers and Subsidies.
 The Parliament’s total allocation as a percentage of the national budget shows a decline of .05% between the period 2015/2016 and
2016/2017.
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Programmes and Projects
The following table illustrates the major programmes and projects undertaken by the Office of the Parliament and the actual and
estimated expenditures for 2015 to 2017.
Development Programme Expenditure 2015 - 2017
$3,500,000
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$0
Televising and
Broadcasting of
Parliamentary
Proceedings
Upgrade of
Networking Systems
at the offices of the
Parliament
Digitalizing and
Archiving of Laws of
Trinidad and Tobago
Establishment of an
Accounting Office
Refurbishment and
Re-tooling of
Constituency Offices
of the Members of
the House of
Representatives
Equipping the
Security Unit of
Parliament
Restoration of the
Red House –
Technical Team
2015 Actual
$1,000,000
$993,639
$93,709
$0
$3,208,958
$833,611
$3,181,794
2016 Revised Estimate
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$0
$3,025,000
$0
$2,000,000
2017 Estimate
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$0
$2,000,000
$0
$1,500,000
2015 Actual
2016 Revised Estimate
2017 Estimate
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2017
Development
Programme
Programmes and Projects
005-06A-005
Televising and Broadcasting of Parliamentary
Proceedings
005-06A-009
2016
Revised
Estimate
2015
Actual
Upgrade of Networking Systems at the offices of the
2017
Estimate
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
$993,639
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
$93,709
$500,000
$500,000
-
-
-
$3,208,958
$3,025,000
$2,000,000
$833,611
-
-
$3,181,794
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
Parliament
005-06A-012
Digitalizing and Archiving of Laws of Trinidad and
Tobago
005-06A-013
Establishment of an Accounting Office
005-06F-001
Refurbishment and Re-tooling of Constituency
Offices
of
the
Members
of
the
House
of
Representatives
005-06F-007
Equipping the Security Unit of Parliament
005-06F-013
Restoration of the Red House – Technical Team
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Auditor General Report Findings for the Fiscal Year 2015
Ref: Auditor General’s Report pg.456
Internal Audit
Minimal evidence of internal audit review was seen on the accounting records examined at the time of the audit in July 2015.
Documents Not Produced
Constituency Employee Data Forms required to record details of employees’ terms and conditions were not produced at five
Constituency Offices visited.
Expenditure Control
Supporting documents were not produced for vouchers totalling $242,080.73.
Overpayments
Forty-six cases of overpayments totalling $151,808.05 relating to Personnel Emoluments were not reported to the Auditor General as
required by Financial Instruction 164 (1) and (2).
Report of the Auditor General on the Public Accounts of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for the Financial Year 2015, accessed on October 2, 2016:
http://www.auditorgeneral.gov.tt/sites/default/files/Auditor%20General%27s%20Report%20on%20the%20Public%20Accounts%202015.pdf
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General Useful Information

Parliament of India, INDIA: http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/

Parliament, UK: https://www.parliament.uk/

Parliament of Canada, CAN: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Default.aspx?Language=E

Parliament of Australia, AUS : http://www.aph.gov.au/
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