UK - The Government Actuary’s Department says it has trimmed spending due to uncertain client payments.

“With uncertainties about the timing of client payments towards the end of the year, the department limited expenditure,” the GAD said in its 2002/2003 annual report. It added that it ended the year within the Treasury’s financial targets.

The department, which operates as both a government department and a commercial consulting firm, said total income for the year ended March 31 2003 was 6.7 million pounds, up from 5.9 million pounds a year earlier.

Total expenditure rose to 6.9 million pounds from 6.6 million pounds. It said its net cash requirement fell to 295 million pounds from 636 million pounds.

Government actuary Chris Daykin hailed “another busy and generally very successful year, both from a financial point of view and from the perspective of the service we have been able to offer to a wide range of clients”.

The GAD says that more than 60% of its income comes from government departments. The rest comes from public sector clients and overseas clients.

“Public sector pensions is, more than ever, the Government Actuary’s Department’s predominant area of activity,” the GAD said. “During the year work on pensions-related activities increased by 25% (or almost one million pounds).”

The GAD was replaced as scheme actuary to the Civil Service pension scheme by Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow in April. And in September GAD said it was looking at moving into the local authority pension scheme market.

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