Our role - Public Accounts Committee
The Committee of Public Accounts is appointed by the House of Commons to examine:
"the accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the public expenditure, and of such other accounts laid before Parliament as the Committee may think fit" (Standing Order No 148).
The Committee's remit
This Committee scrutinises financial accounts as well as the value for money—the economy, efficiency and effectiveness—of public spending and generally holds the government and its civil servants to account for the delivery of public services.
As delivery models for public services have changed, so the reach of the Committee, in following the taxpayer's pound, has spread beyond government departments to also examine public bodies and private companies providing public services.
Because the Committee scrutinises value for money from public expenditure and not government policy it takes evidence from accounting officers (senior civil servants who are usually Permanent Secretaries of a department), who are directly accountable to parliament for the quality of the administration that they lead.
The Committee generally bases its inquiries on value for money reports or investigations by the National Audit Office. It also scrutinises a variety of documents which are provided to the Committee according to an agreement with the Treasury set out in this document - Managing Public Money.
What the Committee does not do
The Committee looks at how public money has been spent and does not examine the merits of Government policy. That role is performed by the relevant Departmental Select Committee.
The Committee does not look at the spending of individual local authorities, police forces or other local bodies. That role is performed by the relevant local auditor and/or elected scrutiny body.
The Committee cannot assist in resolving individual cases. That is the role of constituency MPs.
The Committee cannot assist with accusations of criminal activity. This is a matter for law enforcement agencies.
The Public Accounts Committee is not a prescribed body for the purposes of Whistleblowing. Here you can find a list of appropriate bodies to which a whistleblowing complaint can be made on the Gov.uk website.
The National Audit Office, which supports the Committee’s scrutiny of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending, is a prescribed body.
Government responses to the Committee’s reports
Government departments respond to the Public Accounts Committee’s reports through a Treasury Minute. Treasury Minutes are published on Gov.uk and are then published on the Committee’s website.