Dimension: 1.8.3 Public Accounts Committee
This dimension concerns the role and activities of the Public Public All the members of a community in general, regardless of their citizenship status. Accounts Committee Committee See: Parliamentary committee Parliamentary committee A body comprised of MPs who are appointed, on either a temporary or a permanent basis, to debate or closely examine matters closely related to specific policies, issues or circumstances, in line with the committee’s scope of work. The theme, structure and nature of parliamentary committees are established by a chamber’s rules of procedure. Depending on the these rules, the composition of a committee may reflect that of the whole parliament or include diverse party representation. In some parliaments, the term “commission” is used instead of, or interchangeably with, “committee”. . (PAC), budget committee, or the equivalent body that is responsible for, or has a role in, scrutiny of the budget both before and after its passage through parliament.
The roles of the PAC may include the following:
- Providing information to assist with formulating and debating the budget
- Conducting ex-post oversight of government expenditure
- Examining the financial affairs or performance of any government entity
- Receiving and examining reports from the supreme audit institution
- Promoting the efficient, effective and corruption-free expenditure of public funds
In order to perform its role effectively, the PAC needs to have authority and powers derived from the legal framework and parliament’s rules of procedure. Such authority and powers include the PAC’s mandate, its membership, and its power to obtain records and information from government entities in relation to budgetary matters.
The membership of the PAC should reflect the important role played by the opposition and minority parties in budget scrutiny. In some parliaments, it is a requirement that the chair of the PAC be a member of the opposition.
Aspiring goal
Assess your parliament against this dimension
Assessment criteria
No 1: Legal framework
The legal framework establishes the PAC as parliament’s primary oversight body in relation to budgetary matters. The PAC has a broad mandate to fulfil its budgetary oversight duties and to assess the performance of entities funded by the budget.
No 2: Composition
Parliament’s rules of procedure require that opposition and/or minority parties be represented proportionally in the membership of the PAC and, ideally, that the PAC be chaired by a member of these parties.
No 3: Access to information
Entities funded by the budget are required to provide the PAC with records and information about their budgets and performance. Such information is readily accessible to parliament.
No 4: Resources
The PAC is adequately resourced to enable it to exercise its mandate on behalf of parliament.
No 5: Practice
In practice, the PAC plays an active role in parliament’s scrutiny of the budget. It regularly informs parliament and the public about the outcomes of its budget scrutiny.
How to complete this assessment
This dimension is assessed against several criteria, each of which should be evaluated separately. For each criterion, select one of the six descriptive grades (Non-existent, Rudimentary, Basic, Good, Very good and Excellent) that best reflects the situation in your parliament, and provide details of the evidence on which this assessment is based.
The evidence for assessment of this dimension could include the following:
- Provisions of the constitution, other aspects of the legal framework and/or parliament’s rules of procedure establishing a PAC (or similar committee) and granting it authority and powers
- Provisions of the constitution, other aspects of the legal framework and/or parliament’s rules of procedure relating to the mandate and membership of the PAC
- Examples of PAC reports
- Evidence of the availability of adequate financial and human resources to enable the PAC to exercise its mandate
Where relevant, provide additional comments or examples that support the assessment.
Sources and further reading
- David Beetham, Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. and democracy in the twenty-first century: A guide to good practice (2006).
- Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Recommended Benchmarks for Democratic Legislators, revised edition (2018).
- National Democratic Institute (NDI), Towards the Development of International Standards for Democratic Legislatures (2007).
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), OECD Best Practices for Budget Budget A plan typically prepared by the executive and placed before parliament each year (depending on national statute) showing what money the government expects to receive (revenue) and how the government proposes to spend it (expenditure). Transparency (2002).
- OECD, Recommendation of the Council on Budgetary Governance (2015).
- OECD, Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. ’s role in budgeting (2019).
Get help with this assessment
The assessment of indicators involves diagnosing and considering strengths and weaknesses, i.e. the things parliament is doing well, and the things it could do better or more effectively, taking into account established good practices that are described in the indicators.
Read the assessment guidance to find out what to consider when conducting an assessment against the Indicators. Find out how to prepare, how to set the objectives of the assessment, how to organize the process, and more. Contact the project partners for expert advice.
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