Audit Committee, 18 Feb 2003

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 18, 2003

Official Report 357KB pdf

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Committee of Public Accounts (Meeting)

The next item is about a meeting with the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts. I am pleased to be able to report to the committee on a very productive meeting, which was held in the House of Commons on Monday 10 February. With Sarah Boyack, Keith Raffan, David Davidson and the Auditor General for Scotland, I attended a hearing of the Committee of Public Accounts before having a private meeting with that committee's members to discuss areas of mutual interest. The discussion covered such issues as how the committee's programme is developed, its powers and practices in relation to the calling and questioning of witnesses, and its relationships with other committees of the Parliament.

Our committee has made contact and opened up dialogue with audit committees and authorities in the United Kingdom and Europe in order to exchange ideas, to seek out best practice and to ensure that we are in the mainstream of audit arrangements and developments elsewhere. I believe that such liaison between the audit committees of the UK's legislatures and assemblies—and, indeed, those of Europe—are of the utmost importance, and that there is a great deal to be learned from that dialogue.

As a consequence of that meeting, I am happy to welcome Mr Dafydd Wigley AM, chair of the Audit Committee of the National Assembly for Wales. He has joined us along with colleagues from the Welsh Assembly and the National Audit Office. Our colleagues from Wales are welcome to the Scottish Parliament. Croeso i Alba.