UK Public Accounts Committee Network hosted in Westminster
25 September 2023
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was proud to host representatives of financial scrutiny committees and national audit bodies from around the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Islands and Mediterranean Region at an event earlier this month.
The UK PAC Network Event saw wide-ranging discussion of participants’ experiences scrutinising government spending across their jurisdictions.
Hosted by Westminster’s PAC, the event was attended by Members, Clerks, Auditor Generals and other representatives from the Isle of Man’s Tynwald, the Scottish Parliament, Audit Scotland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Parliament of Malta, National Audit Office Malta, and the Parliament of Gibraltar.
Also in attendance were representatives from the National Audit Office, the Commonwealth Association of Public Accounts Committees, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK.
Topics for discussion included how best to prepare for effective evidence sessions, putting aside political differences as scrutineers, and how PACs foster the impartial scrutiny of public spending.
Chair comment
Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said:
“I’d like to thank all of our attendees. Joining with so many others united in the same pursuit - the impartial scrutiny of public spending - was truly inspiring.
“It was both fascinating and instructive to hear of the tenacious work being carried out by audit bodies across the globe to hold their elected officials to account.
“The day was a salutary reminder, if one were required, of the central place scrutiny should rightly occupy within a democracy.”
Further information
Image credit: UK Parliament