The Welsh Government have missed the statutory deadline for their 2020-21 Annual Accounts.
Chair of the Welsh Parliament’s Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee, Mark Isherwood MS, made a formal Statement in the Senedd yesterday afternoon to place the Committee’s concerns on the public record and “ensure that the wider Senedd is aware of the issue”.
Mr Isherwood stressed that the delay has undermined the Committee’s ability to scrutinise the Accounts, which “will include significant public expenditure arising from the pandemic, which is a matter of public interest”.
He said:
“To provide context, the previous Public Accounts Committee would usually undertake detailed scrutiny of these Accounts annually during the Autumn term, and we had hoped to continue with this in the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee during this Senedd term. To provide context, as I've said, this has always occurred.”
He added:
“We cannot discuss the specific reason for the delay. Until the Accounts are signed, we are not able to discuss this, as it is not in the public domain and, as we understand, could even be subject to legal proceedings.”
Mr Isherwood told Senedd Members that he wrote to the Llwydd in February expressing concern about the delay.
He said:
“The Committee was becoming increasingly concerned about its ability to scrutinise the Welsh Government on these important matters. This delay has resulted in statutory deadlines for financial reporting being missed. And, given that we are referring to the Accounts of a Government, it is important that this matter and the concerns of the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee are placed on the public record and raised in this Chamber to ensure that the wider Senedd is aware of the issue.
“Section 131 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 requires the (Welsh) Government to submit their accounts to the Auditor General for audit no later than 30th November in the following financial year - i.e. April to March. The Auditor General is then required to lay before the Senedd his examination and certification of those accounts within four months of receipt of an auditable set of accounts.
“This is statutory, enshrined in legislation, and yet we are now in June, with still no clear indication as to when these Accounts will be laid.”
He added:
“I want to place on the record that the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee takes these matters very seriously and we will not rush or be pressurised into curtailing our scrutiny once the Accounts have been published. We anticipate these to be a more complex set of Accounts, with several important issues.
“It is imperative that we undertake this work, fulfil our role in the financial accountability cycle, and instil public confidence that we are holding the Welsh Government to account on its expenditure. We hope that we can look forward to being able to undertake this work in the Autumn term accordingly.”