Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt


The Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt is a statutory body of the UK Government, whose main function is the investment and management of government funds. The current Comptroller General is Jo Whelan.

History

The CRND was established in 1786 by the National Debt Reduction Act 1786, and was originally a non-ministerial government department.
The 1786 Act provided that the Commissioners were to be the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Chancellor of his Majesty’s Exchequer, the Master of the Rolls, the Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery and the governor and deputy governor of the Bank of England. The Life Annuities Act 1908 provided that the Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer was also to be a Commissioner The Chief Baron was replaced by the Lord Chief Justice by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1881 The Paymaster General replaced the Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery by virtue of the Court of Chancery Act 1872, and was in turn replaced by the Accountant-General of the Supreme Court The most recent change in composition has been as a result of the Bank of England Act 1998, which provided for additional deputy governors of the Bank to be Commissioners
The statutory functions of CRND have been carried out within the UK Debt Management Office since July 2002.

Operations

The CRND manages the investment portfolios of a number of government and public bodies including HM Revenue & Customs, National Savings and Investments, Her Majesty's Courts Service, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the. It also manages some residual operations relating to the National Debt including donations and bequests and the 3.5 per cent Conversion Loan Sinking Fund.