Clause 3 - Studies for improving economy etc in services
Public Audit (Wales) Bill [Lords]
9:45 am
Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales), Department for Constitutional Affairs; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)
We have had a short but important debate that perhaps goes to one of the big issues that have faced auditing and public inspection these past years. Amendment No. 7 would delete the prohibition on the Auditor General being able to question the merits of policy objectives of any relevant body while undertaking or promoting comparative cost-cutting studies on economy, efficiency and effectiveness—or, as most of us know it, value for money.
It is a long-standing principle that the Auditor General, and similarly the Comptroller and Auditor General in England, cannot question the policy objectives of a body for which he has audit responsibilities. That does not prevent him from expressing a view on how the body set about achieving its objectives and whether its approach represents value for money. He may also, as the clause seeks to promote, inform future strategic policy development. We touched on that on Second Reading.
However, questioning the merits of policy could compromise the Auditor General's independence if, for instance, he undertook audit work or a ''value for money'' study relating to a policy area on which he had previously expressed a view. That would not be conducive to the exercise of his functions, and we fear that it might be seen as a blight on his independence.
The amendment would also raise an inconsistency between the Auditor General's powers in respect of cross-cutting studies provided for under the clause, and studies in respect of the Assembly and Assembly-funded bodies undertaken under the Government of Wales Act 1998, where the prohibition on questioning policy merits would still apply. For those reasons, we believe it would be inappropriate for the Auditor General to question the merits of policy objectives when exercising his functions.