Clause 39 - Accounts and audit regulations
Public Audit (Wales) Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Mr Bill Wiggin (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Local and Devolved Government Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 34, in page 27, line 38, at end insert—
'(d) Any draft regulations which are within subsection (3)(b) shall not be made unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament'.
Welcome back, Mr. Griffiths, and I hope you had a good lunch. It is splendid to see you in the Chair. Amendment No. 34 would add a new subsection to clause 39 so that the approval of both Houses of Parliament must be given to any regulation made under the clause that creates an offence. We are concerned that the accounting regulations dealt with in clause 39 could create a criminal offence of non-compliance, which would be introduced by the Assembly without any parliamentary procedure. We hope that criminal sanctions would not be created in regulations on accounting offences, but proper parliamentary scrutiny must be in place in the event of such regulations being brought forward.
Although the clause mirrors section 27 of the Audit Commission Act 1998, the Government's argument cannot be for consistency, because the Assembly could create a criminal offence that does not exist in England. Surely the Government are eager to ensure that Parliament is involved in regulations made under the clause, as they proclaim that one of the principles of the Bill regarding criminal law is equivalence between England and Wales. The clause allows for exactly the result that they say they do not want.