THE NATIONAL Assembly’s Finance Committee has begun an inquiry into the law which sets out how the public spending watchdog in Wales operates.
The Wales Audit Office (WAO) is charged with ensuring public bodies, such as the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and the National Library for Wales, are getting value for money from taxpayers cash and that their accounts add up.
The Public Audit (Wales) Act 2013 formalised the existence of the Wales Audit Office to support the Auditor General for Wales. It set out what was required of the organisation, including the auditing of national bodies and local authorities.
Concerns have been raised about some aspects of the Act, including the mechanisms around the fees the WAO charges, The Finance Committee has decided to review the operation of legislation relating to these issues and whether improvements can be made.
The WAO has fixed fee rates, but if the work it undertakes comes in under budget a complicated refund procedure is used to reimburse organisations.
“Since the Act has had time to bed in since being passed six years ago, the Committee now feels it is an appropriate time to review how effective it is,” said Llyr Gruffydd, Chair of the Finance Committee.
“It is important Wales has a strong and robust organisation responsible for monitoring how public organisations are spending taxpayers’ money, and it is also important that the organisation is able to work efficiently and effectively.
“I would urge anyone with an interest in this area to contribute to our inquiry and I look forward to hearing what people have to say.”
