Former Labour MP for Swansea West
It is because those very factors need to be taken into account that the amendment is phrased in a way that makes it an enabling amendment-it does not say that the Speaker "should" recommend such action, but leaves it to the Speaker's discretion. There is no compulsion about it.
Whatever 45 years may say about my consistency, they are hardly complimentary about my effectiveness.
The proposal relating to the advisory committee is certainly what we originally recommended. I think it was then suggested that there might be a more appropriate body at the time, and that the arrangement should therefore be left open. It was not a case of precluding what had been proposed originally; it was merely a case of leaving things open so that a decision could be made at the time. We...
The hon. Gentleman is right in what he said about expenses. We virtually dealt with that by having the CAG look at the expenses proposals and come to see me about them. However, the problem of governance was not just about expenses-it was about the staff of the organisation, who, as the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee indicated, were dependent on the good will of the CAG for their...
The CAG already submits his expenses to me as Chairman of the commission and publishes them on a six-monthly basis which, we are assured, goes further than for any other public servant. He is therefore already ahead of the game elsewhere in Whitehall.
Under the Bill, the CAG retains his absolute discretion in relation to his statutory duties. It cannot endanger his statutory duties at all.
May I clarify that it was in that very area of work, throughout the world and so on, that some of the trouble arose? It is non-statutory work. In that respect, it is true that the board can circumscribe the activities, because that is part of its role and duty; however, it must not and cannot interfere with the statutory duties.
To meet that situation, we built in a requirement that there should be a code to govern the relationship that they had to develop within the board and to govern the relationship between the CAG and the Chairman. That code has been agreed, as has a strategy, and both have already been approved by the commission.
The National Audit Office has not appointed any staff since 2005 later discovered to be illegal immigrants.
No days were spent on trade union activity in 2009.
The time commitment for the non-executive members of the NAO Board is approximately two days per month. The remuneration for the position is £20,000 per annum; the position is non-pensionable. The time commitment for the chairman of the NAO is one day a week. The remuneration is £50,000 per annum; this position is also non-pensionable.
This is not a matter for the Public Accounts Commission. The hon. Member may wish to request this information from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which has assumed the responsibility for the scheme from the former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
This is not a matter for the Public Accounts Commission. The hon. Member may wish to request this information from the Departments concerned.
Paragraph 5.5 of the Ministerial Code refers to ministerial directions, which may arise in respect of Accounting Officers' concerns about propriety, regularity or value for money. The Comptroller and Auditor General has confirmed that there have been nine directions in relation to propriety and regularity notified to him since May 1997, as set out in the following table: Department ...
While discussing the Government's draft clauses on the NAO's corporate governance, the Commission considered two options for the C&AG's pay: linking to the range of salaries received by Permanent Secretaries and linking to the judicial pay scale. Since the salaries of Permanent Secretaries include a performance bonus, and the draft legislation specifies that the C&AG's salary should not have...
The Comptroller and Auditor General is responsible for the selection of topics for the National Audit Office's future work programme. He discusses the actual topics with the Public Accounts Committee. The Commission's role is to ensure that adequate resources are available for the NAO's programme. The Commission last discussed the National Audit Office's work with the Comptroller and Auditor...
