---

Government of Wales Bill

I thank the noble Baroness for highlighting the issue relating to the content of the accounts and their comparability with the budget, as it is an area that we believe is greatly improved by the Bill. I hope that the noble Baroness will be reassured to hear that Part 5 of the Bill has been drafted in very close consultation with the Wales Audit Office. That office has expressed its satisfaction that the provisions in the Bill properly address the concerns that it raised with the Assembly’s committee, in considering the White Paper, about current difficulties in reconciling the Assembly budget with the end-of-year accounts. The new provisions in Part 5 of the Bill have been drafted to recognise the separation between the Assembly and the Assembly Government. Ministers will now be required to request and Assembly Members will be asked to authorise the use of resources and the drawing of cash from the new Welsh consolidated fund—a neutral bank account that will initially hold the money paid over by the Secretary of State. Money can be withdrawn from that fund only if authorised by the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General cannot authorise money to be withdrawn unless legislation requires it, or the withdrawal has budgetary authorisation. This arrangement is very similar to the longstanding Whitehall arrangements and the devolved arrangements in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Clauses 124 and 125 require Budget Motions to specify the services and purposes for which resources are authorised to be used or retained by each of the persons and bodies funded out of the Welsh consolidated fund, and for which money is authorised to be issued to those persons out of the fund. The Government fully accept the principle behind this amendment, which is that Assembly Members, having been asked to authorise resources and cash drawings for specified services and purposes, are entitled to an audited statement of how those resources have been used and how that cash has been spent. Clause 130 requires Welsh Ministers to produce accounts in a form directed by the Treasury and Clause 136 makes similar provision in respect of the Assembly Commission. The Treasury direction will require compliance with the Government’s financial reporting manual which, among other things, requires the production of a statement of outturn against approved request for resources. This statement is part of the accounts and will be subject to audit by the Auditor-General for Wales. The Auditor-General is content that the provisions of the Bill and the requirements of the financial reporting manual will achieve what is being sought by the noble Baroness in moving this amendment. The technical details on the precise content and format of the end-of-year accounts are left to Treasury direction and the manual so that the Treasury has the necessary flexibility to ensure uniformity with current government accounting practices—which, as we know, are updated periodically—while ensuring that the accounts are fit for purpose in terms of aiding democratic scrutiny. It is our view, therefore, that it is not appropriate or necessary to set out any further requirements on the face of the Bill. I hope that Baroness, Lady Noakes, agrees and will feel able to withdraw her amendment.