The National Assembly for Wales’s Public Accounts Committee has published its first ever annual report.
The report will be debated in Plenary in the autumn and covers the work that the Committee has carried out in the past year.
“This year the Committee has sought to improve its own working practices and to try new approaches,” said Committee Chair, Darren Millar AM.
“The production of an Annual PAC report to be tabled for debate by the whole Assembly was agreed by the Committee at the beginning of the year and is an example of these new ways of working.
“The Committee is keen to maximise its impact in ensuring that taxpayer-funded organisations and officers satisfy the public's expectations in respect of value for money, good governance and efficiency.
“We will continue to work towards these ends in the current year and as we move into the next Assembly term.”
The Committee undertook nine major inquiries between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014. The Committee considered a range of issues from Grants Management to Health Finances. It also considered the governance arrangements of a number of organisations.
During this period the Committee also reviewed how it worked and agreed a number of proposals to change the ways of working. One of the most significant developments has been the undertaking of PAC-led inquiries.
These are inquiries generated by Committee members’ concerns about value for money aspects of key Government policies. In 2013-14, the Committee took evidence on two PAC-led inquiries: senior management pay in the public sector and the Intra-Wales Cardiff to Anglesey Air Service.
The Committee has also agreed to undertake a piece of work considering the consolidated accounts for the Welsh Government and some independent bodies funded by the Welsh block grant including the Welsh Language, Children’s and Older People’s Commissioners, and the Public Services Ombudsman.
Annual Report of the Public Accounts Committee (PDF, 365KB)