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Government of Wales Bill

I appreciate the aim of the noble Baroness in tabling Amendments Nos. 98 and 100; however, they are not necessary. The Committee will be familiar with the parliamentary rule of procedure that a request to Parliament to authorise expenditure must originate from the executive. Clause 124(2) applies the same principle to Wales. It provides that a budget motion, covering the Welsh Ministers, the Assembly Commission, the Auditor General and the ombudsman, can be moved only by one of the Welsh Ministers. It is for Welsh Ministers to decide the amounts for which they seek authorisation in the annual budget motion. The Assembly will be able to scrutinise the amounts requested by the relevant persons in Clause 123(3)(b) to (d) in advance of the budget motion. For the Auditor General, estimates will be submitted to the Audit Committee for consideration before being laid before the Assembly, having taken any modifications into account. The Audit Committee will have to consult the Auditor General before proposing any modifications to his estimate. For the Public Services Ombudsman, it will be for standing orders to specify the relevant committee to which estimates must be submitted for consideration. The method of formulating the Assembly Commission bid can, like the appropriate committee to consider the ombudsman’s estimate, be dealt with in the revised standing orders. Assembly Members will be able to scrutinise the amounts proposed in the budget motion in the light of those estimates and ultimately reject the motion if they are unhappy with it. I hope that the noble Baroness will feel that the necessary controls are there. The protection from the actions of Ministers and the ombudsman estimate procedure is set out in Schedule 10(85)(12).