Government of Wales Act 2006

Financial accountability of Welsh Ministers

131Welsh Ministers' accounts

(1)The Welsh Ministers must, for each financial year, prepare accounts in accordance with directions given to them by the Treasury.

(2)The accounts must include details of the financial affairs and transactions of the Counsel General.

(3)The directions which the Treasury may give under subsection (1) include directions to prepare accounts relating to financial affairs and transactions of persons other than the Welsh Ministers.

(4)The directions which the Treasury may give under subsection (1) include, in particular, directions as to—

(a)the financial affairs and transactions to which the accounts are to relate,

(b)the information to be contained in the accounts and the manner in which it is to be presented,

(c)the methods and principles in accordance with which the accounts are to be prepared, and

(d)the additional information (if any) that is to accompany the accounts.

(5)Any accounts which the Welsh Ministers are directed under this section to prepare for any financial year must be submitted by the Welsh Ministers to the Auditor General no later than 30th November in the following financial year.

(6)The Auditor General must—

(a)examine and certify any accounts submitted under this section, and

(b)no later than four months after the accounts are submitted, lay before the Assembly a copy of them as certified by the Auditor General together with the Auditor General’s report on them.

(7)In examining accounts submitted under this section, the Auditor General must, in particular, be satisfied—

(a)that the expenditure to which the accounts relate has been incurred lawfully and in accordance with the authority which governs it, and

(b)that money received for a particular purpose or particular purposes has not been expended otherwise than for that purpose or those purposes.

(8)Where—

(a)by virtue of any enactment other than this section the Welsh Ministers are under an obligation to prepare accounts dealing with any matters, and

(b)it appears to the Treasury that those matters fall to be dealt with in accounts directed to be prepared under this section,

the Treasury may relieve the Welsh Ministers of that obligation for or in respect of such periods as the Treasury may direct.

132Account relating to Welsh Consolidated Fund

(1)The Welsh Ministers must, for each financial year, prepare an account of the payments into and out of the Welsh Consolidated Fund.

(2)The account must be prepared in accordance with directions given to the Welsh Ministers by the Treasury.

(3)The directions which the Treasury may give under subsection (2) include, in particular, directions as to—

(a)the information to be contained in the account and the manner in which it is to be presented,

(b)the methods and principles in accordance with which the account is to be prepared, and

(c)the additional information (if any) that is to accompany the account.

(4)Any account which the Welsh Ministers are directed under this section to prepare for any financial year must be submitted by the Welsh Ministers to the Auditor General no later than 30th November in the following financial year.

(5)The Auditor General must—

(a)examine and certify any account submitted under this section, and

(b)no later than four months after the account is submitted, lay before the Assembly a copy of it as certified by the Auditor General together with the Auditor General’s report on it.

(6)In examining an account submitted under this section the Auditor General must, in particular, be satisfied—

(a)that any payment out of the Welsh Consolidated Fund to which the account relates was paid out in compliance with section 124 or 130, and

(b)that money which is required to be paid into the Welsh Consolidated Fund has been paid into that Fund.

133Accounting officers for Welsh Ministers

(1)The principal accounting officer for the Welsh Ministers has—

(a)in relation to the accounts of the Welsh Ministers and the finances of the Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General, and

(b)in relation to the performance by persons designated as accounting officers in pursuance of any provision of this Act of their responsibilities as accounting officers,

the responsibilities which are from time to time specified by the Treasury.

(2)The principal accounting officer for the Welsh Ministers may designate other members of the staff of the Welsh Assembly Government as additional accounting officers.

(3)An additional accounting officer has, in relation to such of the accounts of the Welsh Ministers and the finances of the Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General as may be specified by the principal accounting officer for the Welsh Ministers, the responsibilities which are from time to time specified by the principal accounting officer for the Welsh Ministers.

134Accounts of subsidiaries of Welsh Ministers

(1)For the purposes of the examination by the Auditor General of any accounts of the Welsh Ministers the Auditor General—

(a)has a right of access at all reasonable times to every document relating to the accounts of any subsidiary of the Welsh Ministers (whether or not the accounts of the Welsh Ministers being examined relate to the financial affairs and transactions of the subsidiary),

(b)is entitled to require from any person holding or accountable for any of those documents any assistance, information or explanation which the Auditor General reasonably thinks necessary for those purposes, and

(c)may require any subsidiary of the Welsh Ministers to provide the Auditor General at times specified by the Auditor General with accounts of such of the subsidiary’s transactions as the Auditor General may specify.

(2)The Treasury may, by directions given to a subsidiary of the Welsh Ministers, require the subsidiary to include in any accounts which the subsidiary prepares (under, for example, the law relating to companies or charities) such additional information as may be specified in the directions.

(3)The inclusion of information in any accounts in compliance with such directions does not constitute a breach of any provision which prohibits, or does not authorise, the inclusion in the accounts of that information.

(4)In this section “subsidiary of the Welsh Ministers” means—

(a)any body corporate or other undertaking in relation to which, if the Welsh Ministers were an undertaking, the Welsh Ministers would be a parent undertaking,

(b)any trust of which the Welsh Ministers are settlors, or

(c)any charitable institution of which the Welsh Ministers are founders but which is neither a body corporate nor a trust.

(5)For the purposes of subsection (4)(a)—

• “undertaking” has the meaning given by section 259(1) of the Companies Act 1985 (c. 6), and

• “parent undertaking” is to be construed in accordance with section 258 of that Act.

135Examinations into Welsh Ministers' use of resources

(1)The Auditor General may carry out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General have used their resources in discharging their functions.

(2)Subsection (1) does not entitle the Auditor General to question the merits of the policy objectives of the Welsh Ministers or the Counsel General.

(3)In determining how to exercise functions under this section the Auditor General must take into account the views of the Audit Committee as to the examinations to be carried out under this section.

(4)The Auditor General may lay before the Assembly a report of the results of any examination carried out under this section.

136Examinations by Comptroller and Auditor General

(1)The Comptroller and Auditor General may carry out examinations into the payments into and out of the Welsh Consolidated Fund.

(2)The Comptroller and Auditor General may report the results of any examination carried out under subsection (1) to the House of Commons.

(3)If a report is made under subsection (2), the Comptroller and Auditor General must at the same time lay a report of the results of the examination before the Assembly.

(4)For the purpose of enabling examinations under subsection (1) to be carried out the Comptroller and Auditor General—

(a)has a right of access at all reasonable times to all such documents in the custody or under the control of any of the persons mentioned in subsection (5) as the Comptroller and Auditor General may reasonably require for that purpose, and

(b)is entitled to require from any person holding or accountable for any of those documents any assistance, information or explanation which the Comptroller and Auditor General reasonably thinks necessary for that purpose.

(5)The persons referred to in subsection (4) are—

(a)the Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General,

(b)the Assembly Commission,

(c)any other person audited by the Auditor General other than a Welsh NHS body (within the meaning given in section 60 of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 (c. 23)), and

(d)the Auditor General.

(6)Before carrying out an examination under subsection (1) or acting in reliance on subsection (4) the Comptroller and Auditor General must—

(a)consult the Auditor General, and

(b)take into account any relevant work done or being done by the Auditor General.