PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT Niall Johnston Parliamentary Consultant

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PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT Niall
JohnstonParliamentary Consultant
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Fiduciary Obligations ExplainedParliament,
committees and public audit

• Parliament holds power of the purse and
  obligation to hold the Executive to account
• Specified oversight committees oversee use of
  public funds resources by Executive
• Do this by examining public accounts

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Fiduciary Obligations ExplainedMandates of
oversight committees

• Mandate determined by SOs, some case by
  Constitution
• Narrow Focus - financial probity and regularity
• Wider Focus - value for money, performance
  audits, program effectiveness
• Other matters can be referred

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Fiduciary Obligations ExplainedCommittees and
the Auditor General

• Committee work often determined by the AG reports
• Committee must decide follow-up issues
• An effective committee depts. taking AG
  concerns more seriously
• Cooperation with AG on follow-up greater
  accountability
• Ensures Depts. are taking corrective action

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Specified oversight committees

• How can parliament ensure that the budget as
  approved was properly implemented?
• Audit report only effective if findings are used
  to improve public financial management
• First PAC established in 1861 as an institutional
  mechanism to close the circle of financial
  control (Gladstone)
• Traditional focus on regularity and propriety
• Increasingly also on value for money

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First principlespolicy neutrality
non-partisanship

• PAC not to question underlying policy
• Main interaction with departmental officials
• In practice, often difficult to separate
  administrative and political responsibility
• Inter-party co-operation and preference for
  unanimity in decisions
• Opposition chairperson in 67 of PACs

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Some challenges

• How ensure follow-up?
• Tracking reports or chapters
• Departmental report backs
• Use of audit findings for budget approval
• Co-operation with civil society
• How strengthen relationship with AG?
• Parliamentary liaison offices
• Some AGs Officers of Parliament
• How deal with varying quality of reports?
• Skills enhancement sufficient funding
• Parliamentary and AG networks for mutual learning

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Oversight The Budget Process

• The development, deliberation and passage of a
  budget with both legislative and executive
  participation represents one of the vital checks
  and balances of democracy
• Budget development is typically the domain of the
  executive branch.
• Proactive estimate committees can seek public
  input into the budget planning cycle
• Public Accounts and other oversight committees,
  often chaired by a member of the opposition,
  oversee the integrity, economy, efficiency, and
  effectiveness of government financial management

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Heart of Executive-Legislative Relations The
Budget Process
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Defining Oversight

• Financial Oversight
• Linked to budget review and budget cycle
• Exante and Exposte review finance / budget,
  Public Accounts committees
• Traditional approach
• Linked to power of the purse

• Program Oversight
• Linked to changes in budgeting and financial
  scrutiny / accountability
• Greater emphasis on linking budget, expenditure
  and delivery
• Greater role for sectoral committees
• Demands greater coordination of oversight

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Challenges to Oversight

• Resources
• Staff, information, money
• Possibly requires structural changes
• Information Access / Retrieval
• Greater oversight demands more information and
  timeliness of information
• Information demands not always met
• Requires alternate sources

• Planning by committees
• Change from reactive to proactive oversight
• Strong leadership of committee
• Partisanship
• Non-partisanship helps build consensus
• Consensus within committee
• On issues to be examined
• Political support

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Opportunities for More Effective Oversight

• Improved Resources for Committee
• Role of Parliamentary Service Boards
• Separate budget for parliament
• Professionalization of staff especially
  committees and research staff
• Development of coalitions to assist committees
• Media
• Civil society
• Research groups
• World Bank / IMF / donors

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Opportunities Information Access

• Availability of timely and accurate information
• Makes oversight real and relevant
• Also takes foresight
• Access to Information Laws
• Increase Parliaments position to acquire
  information from Executive on expenditures,
  programs
• Improves overall accountability through increased
  transparency

• Research and committee staff
• Support and feed committees
• Coalitions / partnerships for information
• Alliances of accountability
• Civil Society
• Think Tanks
• Donors

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Opportunities Improved Planning

• Use existing legislative frameworks
• Budget Cycle
• Legislative Agenda
• Policy Pipeline
• Help committees to be more proactive
• Especially for sectoral committees and program
  oversight

• Help to determine issues for committees to
  consider
• Requires greater cross-party cooperation
• Select key or strategic issues to consider
• Cannot look at all issues
• Requires coordination, use of sub-committees

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Key Questions for consideration

• Financial / Programmatic oversight or both?
• How are revenues and revenue predictions
  scrutinized?
• Main Challenges to Oversight in your parliament?
• How are you overcoming these?
• Are there country-specific lessons?