Clause 12 - Local government bodies in Wales
Public Audit (Wales) Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales), Department for Constitutional Affairs; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)
The amendment also deals with the definition of ''public body'' in the context of enabling the National Assembly by order to amend the categories of body defined as local government bodies in Wales to take account of future circumstances. The definition used in clause 12 is consistent with that used in clause 1, which we considered earlier. Again, the amendment could have an unnecessarily restrictive effect.
The purpose of the definition in clause 12, and the rest of the Bill, is to maximise the scrutiny and safeguards in respect of the use of public money. The amendment would undermine that intention. It would mean that a category of body wholly funded by public money could be added to clause 12(1), but a category of body that derived anything less than 100 per cent. of its funding from the public purse could not.
As I emphasised earlier, many public bodies do not receive all their funding from a public source. For example, a body could not be added to clause 12(1) if it raised a proportion of its funding from income derived from the provision of services. In that case, the body could not be added unless it was clearly carrying out public functions. Income derived from fees or leisure-related receipts, such as theatre tickets or leisure centre admissions, would not count as public funding if the amendment was accepted. With that explanation, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will reflect further and withdraw the amendment.