Audit Committee, 12 Nov 2002
Meeting date: Tuesday, November 12, 2002
Official Report
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Standing Orders
We will proceed to item 3 and hold back item 2 pro tem. Item 3 is a proposed amendment to standing orders, which is a technical matter. The amendment involves a procedural issue that relates to the committee's remit. Members have a paper from the clerk that explains that we require to seek a change to the committee's remit as set out in standing orders.
Rule 6.7.1(b) of standing orders says that the committee's remit includes considering and reporting on
"any report laid before the Parliament by the Auditor General for Scotland",
but the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 does not give the Auditor General formal laying powers. Consequently, the Auditor General's value-for-money reports, or three Es reports, which the committee has considered to date, were not laid.
The solution that has been agreed with the Parliament's lawyers is to make a minor amendment to standing orders so that the committee is empowered to consider reports that the Auditor General has made to the Parliament. That change will make no practical difference to the way in which the committee considers reports.
I must put the matter to a vote. The question is, that the proposal that the Audit Committee formally request the Procedures Committee to seek the approval of Parliament for a change to rule 6.7.1 of standing orders as outlined in the preferred option set out in paper AU/02/15/1, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members indicated agreement.
That is unanimous.