This article needs to be updated. Please help update this to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2020)
The Committee of Public Accounts is a select committee of the British House of Commons. It is responsible for overseeing government expenditures, and to ensure they are effective and honest. The committee is seen as a crucial mechanism for ensuring transparency and accountability in government financial operations, having been described by Professor the Lord Hennessy as "the queen of the select committees...[which] by its very existence exert[s] a cleansing effect in all government departments".[1]
The recommendation for the creation of a committee to oversee government accounts was first put forward in 1857 by a small group of interested Members of Parliament led by Sir Francis Baring. The structure and function of the PAC date back to reforms initiated by William Ewart Gladstone, when he was British Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1860s. The first Public Accounts Committee was established in 1862 by a resolution of the British House of Commons:
There shall be a standing committee designated "The Committee of Public Accounts"; for the examination of the Accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament to meet the Public Expenditure, to consist of nine members, who shall be nominated at the commencement of every Session, and of whom five shall be a quorum.[2]
The form has since been replicated in virtually all Commonwealth of Nations and many non-Commonwealth countries. A minister from His Majesty's Treasury sits on the committee but, by convention, does not attend hearings. The Chair of the committee is always drawn from the main opposition party and is usually a former senior Minister.
The Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 appointed The Committee of Public Accounts to oversee the work of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG)[3] The Committee continues to be assisted by the C&AG who is a permanent witness at its hearings, along with his staff of the National Audit Office, who provide briefings on each report and assist in the preparation of the Committee's own reports.
^"Public Accounts Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
^"Public Accounts Committee Volume 720: debated on Monday 17 October 2022". hansard.parliament.ukv. UK Hansard. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022. That Helen Whately be discharged from the Public Accounts Committee and Felicity Buchan be added.v
^"Committees Volume 723: debated on Tuesday 29 November 2022". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022. That James Wild be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts.
^"Business without Debate Volume 733: debated on Tuesday 6 June 2023". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023. That James Cartlidge be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Gareth Davies be added
^"Public Accounts Volume 735: debated on Monday 26 June 2023". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023. That Mr Louie French be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Ben Lake be added.—(Sir Bill Wiggin, on behalf of the Committee of Selection.)
^"Business without Debate Volume 742: debated on Monday 11 December 2023". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023. Public Accounts
^"Business without Debate Volume 742: debated on Monday 18 December 2023". hansard.parliament.uk/. UK Hansard. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023. That Sir Simon Clarke be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Gary Sambrook be added.
^"Speaker's Statement: Select Committee Chairs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 627. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 12 July 2017.
^"Public Accounts". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 628. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 11 September 2017.
^"MP Chris Davies unseated after petition triggers by-election". BBC News. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
^"Speaker's Statement". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 597. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 18 June 2015.
David McGee, The Overseers – Public Accounts Committees and Public Spending, Pluto Press, London 2002.
Stapenhurst, Rick; Sahgal, Vinod; Woodley, William; Pelizzo, Riccardo; World Bank, 1 May 2005, Policy Research Working Paper WPS3613, Scrutinizing public expenditures: assessing the performance of public accounts committees
Pelizzo, Riccardo, Stapenhurst, Rick, Saghal, Vinod and William Woodley, What Makes Public Accounts Committees Work?, Politics and Policy, vol. 34, n. 4, December 2006. pp. 774–793.
Riccardo Pelizzo and Rick Stapenhurst, Strengthening Public Accounts Committees by Targeting Regional and Country Specific Weaknesses, in Anwar Shah (ed.), Performance Accountability and Combating Corruption, Washington DC, The World Bank, 2007, pp. 379–393.
Jacobs, K. 1997. ‘A reforming accountability’, International Journal of Health Planning and Management 12: 169–85.
Jacobs, K.1998. ‘Value for money auditing in New Zealand: competing for control in the public sector’, British Accounting Review 30: 343–360
Jones, C. 1987. ‘The Origins of the Victorian Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee’, MA, University of Melbourne.
External linksedit
Public Accounts Committee homepage
Records for this Committee are held at the Parliamentary Archives
February 16, 2024
public, accounts, committee, united, kingdom, confused, with, political, action, committee, similar, names, this, article, needs, updated, please, help, update, this, reflect, recent, events, newly, available, information, march, 2020, committee, public, accou. Not to be confused with Political Action Committee For similar names see PAC This article needs to be updated Please help update this to reflect recent events or newly available information March 2020 The Committee of Public Accounts is a select committee of the British House of Commons It is responsible for overseeing government expenditures and to ensure they are effective and honest The committee is seen as a crucial mechanism for ensuring transparency and accountability in government financial operations having been described by Professor the Lord Hennessy as the queen of the select committees which by its very existence exert s a cleansing effect in all government departments 1 Contents 1 Overview 2 Membership 2 1 Changes since 2019 3 2017 2019 Parliament 3 1 Changes 2017 2019 4 2015 2017 Parliament 4 1 Changes 2015 2017 5 2010 2015 Parliament 5 1 Changes 2010 2015 6 Chairs 1861 present 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksOverview editThe recommendation for the creation of a committee to oversee government accounts was first put forward in 1857 by a small group of interested Members of Parliament led by Sir Francis Baring The structure and function of the PAC date back to reforms initiated by William Ewart Gladstone when he was British Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1860s The first Public Accounts Committee was established in 1862 by a resolution of the British House of Commons There shall be a standing committee designated The Committee of Public Accounts for the examination of the Accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament to meet the Public Expenditure to consist of nine members who shall be nominated at the commencement of every Session and of whom five shall be a quorum 2 The form has since been replicated in virtually all Commonwealth of Nations and many non Commonwealth countries A minister from His Majesty s Treasury sits on the committee but by convention does not attend hearings The Chair of the committee is always drawn from the main opposition party and is usually a former senior Minister The Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 appointed The Committee of Public Accounts to oversee the work of the Comptroller and Auditor General C amp AG 3 The Committee continues to be assisted by the C amp AG who is a permanent witness at its hearings along with his staff of the National Audit Office who provide briefings on each report and assist in the preparation of the Committee s own reports Membership editThe Committee s members as of December 2023 are as follows 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Member Party ConstituencyDame Meg Hillier DBE MP Chair Labour and Co operative Party Hackney South and ShoreditchGary Sambrook MP Conservative Party Birmingham NorthfieldDan Carden MP Labour Party Liverpool WaltonSir Geoffrey Clifton Brown MP Conservative Party The CotswoldsMark Francois MP Conservative Party Rayleigh and WickfordBen Lake MP Plaid Cymru CeredigionOlivia Blake MP Labour Party Sheffield HallamJonathan Djanogly MP Conservative Party HuntingdonSir Jeremy Quin MP Conservative Party HorshamFlick Drummond MP Conservative Party Meon ValleySarah Olney MP Liberal Democrats Richmond ParkSarah Owen MP Labour Party Luton NorthAnne Marie Morris MP Conservative Party Newton AbbotPaula Barker MP Labour Party Liverpool WavertreeGareth Davies MP Conservative Party Grantham and StamfordPeter Grant MP Scottish National Party GlenrothesChanges since 2019 edit Date Outgoing Member amp Party Constituency New Member amp Party Constituency Source21 September 2020 Bridget Phillipson MP Labour Houghton and Sunderland South Barry Gardiner MP Labour Brent North Hansard9 November 2020 Gagan Mohindra MP Conservative South West Hertfordshire Shaun Bailey MP Conservative West Bromwich West Hansard20 April 2021 Shabana Mahmood MP Labour Birmingham Ladywood Dan Carden MP Labour Liverpool Walton Hansard25 May 2021 Bernard Jenkin MP Conservative Harwich and North Essex Mark Francois MP Conservative Rayleigh and Wickford HansardNew seat Antony Higginbotham MP Conservative Burnley13 July 2021 Olivia Blake MP Labour Sheffield Hallam Kate Osamor MP Labour Edmonton Hansard30 November 2021 Kemi Badenoch MP Conservative Saffron Walden Helen Whately MP Conservative Faversham and Mid Kent Hansard8 February 2022 Barry Gardiner MP Labour Brent North Kate Green MP Labour Stretford and Urmston Hansard15 March 2022 Gareth Bacon MP Conservative Orpington Louie French MP Conservative Old Bexley and Sidcup HansardRichard Holden MP Conservative North West Durham Angela Richardson MP Conservative Guildford2017 2019 Parliament editThe chair was elected on 12 July 2017 with members being announced on 11 September 2017 11 12 Member Party ConstituencyMeg Hillier MP Chair Labour and Co op Hackney South and ShoreditchBim Afolami MP Conservative Hitchin and HarpendenHeidi Allen MP Conservative South CambridgeshireGeoffrey Clifton Brown MP Conservative The CotswoldsMartyn Day MP SNP Linlithgow and East FalkirkChris Evans MP Labour and Co op IslwynCaroline Flint MP Labour Don ValleyLuke Graham MP Conservative Ochil and South PerthshireAndrew Jones MP Conservative Harrogate and KnaresboroughGillian Keegan MP Conservative ChichesterShabana Mahmood MP Labour Birmingham LadywoodNigel Mills MP Conservative Amber ValleyLayla Moran MP Liberal Democrats Oxford West and AbingdonBridget Phillipson MP Labour Houghton and Sunderland SouthGareth Snell MP Labour and Co op Stoke on Trent CentralChanges 2017 2019 edit Date Outgoing Member amp Party Constituency New Member amp Party Constituency Source5 February 2018 Andrew Jones MP Conservative Harrogate and Knaresborough Robert Jenrick MP Conservative Newark Hansard20 February 2018 Heidi Allen MP Conservative South Cambridgeshire Anne Marie Morris MP Conservative Newton Abbot HansardNigel Mills MP Conservative Amber Valley Lee Rowley MP Conservative North East Derbyshire9 July 2018 Martyn Day MP SNP Linlithgow and East Falkirk Douglas Chapman MP SNP Dunfermline and West Fife Hansard22 October 2018 Bim Afolami MP Conservative Hitchin and Harpenden Chris Davies MP Conservative Brecon and Radnorshire HansardLuke Graham MP Conservative Ochil and South Perthshire Nigel Mills MP Conservative Amber Valley3 December 2018 Gillian Keegan MP Conservative Chichester Anne Marie Trevelyan MP Conservative Berwick upon Tweed Hansard21 June 2019 Chris Davies MP Conservative Brecon and Radnorshire Vacant Recall of member from Parliament 13 2015 2017 Parliament editThe chair was elected on 18 June 2015 with members being announced on 7 July 2015 14 15 Member Party ConstituencyMeg Hillier MP Chair Labour and Co op Hackney South and ShoreditchRichard Bacon MP Conservative South NorfolkHarriett Baldwin MP Conservative West WorcestershireDeidre Brock MP SNP Edinburgh North and LeithKevin Foster MP Conservative TorbayStewart Jackson MP Conservative PeterboroughClive Lewis MP Labour Norwich SouthNigel Mills MP Conservative Amber ValleyDavid Mowat MP Conservative Warrington SouthTeresa Pearce MP Labour Erith and ThamesmeadStephen Phillips MP Conservative Sleaford and North HykehamJohn Pugh MP Liberal Democrats SouthportNick Smith MP Labour Blaenau GwentKarin Smyth MP Labour Bristol SouthAnne Marie Trevelyan MP Conservative Berwick upon TweedChanges 2015 2017 edit Date Outgoing Member amp Party Constituency New Member amp Party Constituency Source26 October 2015 Clive Lewis MP Labour Norwich South Chris Evans MP Labour and Co op Islwyn HansardTeresa Pearce MP Labour Erith and Thamesmead Caroline Flint MP Labour Don ValleyNick Smith MP Labour Blaenau Gwent Bridget Phillipson MP Labour Houghton and Sunderland South12 September 2016 Deidre Brock MP SNP Edinburgh North and Leith Phil Boswell MP SNP Coatbridge Chryston and Bellshill Hansard10 October 2016 Harriett Baldwin MP Conservative West Worcestershire Simon Kirby MP Conservative Brighton Kemptown Hansard31 October 2016 Stewart Jackson MP Conservative Peterborough Charlie Elphicke MP Conservative Dover HansardDavid Mowat MP Conservative Brighton Kemptown Kwasi Kwarteng MP Conservative Spelthorne4 November 2016 Stephen Phillips MP Conservative Sleaford and North Hykeham Vacant Resignation of member from Parliament 16 28 November 2016 Vacant Anne Marie Morris MP Conservative Newton Abbot Hansard2010 2015 Parliament editThe chair was elected on 10 June 2010 with members being announced on 12 July 2010 17 18 Member Party ConstituencyMargaret Hodge MP Chair Labour BarkingRichard Bacon MP Conservative South NorfolkSteve Barclay MP Conservative North East CambridgeshireJackie Doyle Price MP Conservative ThurrockJustine Greening MP Conservative PutneyMatt Hancock MP Conservative West SuffolkChris Heaton Harris MP Conservative DaventryJo Johnson MP Conservative OrpingtonEric Joyce MP Labour FalkirkAnne McGuire MP Labour StirlingAustin Mitchell MP Labour Great GrimsbyNick Smith MP Labour Blaenau GwentIan Swales MP Liberal Democrats RedcarJames Wharton MP Conservative Stockton SouthChanges 2010 2015 edit Date Outgoing Member amp Party Constituency New Member amp Party Constituency Source2 November 2010 Eric Joyce MP Labour Falkirk Stella Creasy MP Labour Walthamstow Hansard24 October 2011 Stella Creasy MP Labour Walthamstow Meg Hillier MP Labour Hackney South and Shoreditch HansardAnne McGuire MP Labour Stirling Fiona Mactaggart MP Labour Slough31 October 2011 Justine Greening MP Conservative Putney Chloe Smith MP Conservative Norwich North Hansard27 February 2012 Jo Johnson MP Conservative Orpington Stewart Jackson MP Conservative Peterborough Hansard4 September 2012 Chloe Smith MP Conservative Norwich North Sajid Javid MP Conservative Bromsgrove12 November 2012 Matt Hancock MP Conservative West Suffolk Guto Bebb MP Conservative Aberconwy HansardJames Wharton MP Conservative Stockton South Justin Tomlinson MP Conservative North Swindon25 November 2013 Sajid Javid MP Conservative Bromsgrove Nicky Morgan MP Conservative Loughborough Hansard7 April 2014 Fiona Mactaggart MP Labour Slough Anne McGuire MP Labour Stirling Hansard12 May 2014 Nicky Morgan MP Conservative Loughborough Andrea Leadsom MP Conservative South Northamptonshire Hansard23 June 2014 Steve Barclay MP Conservative North East Cambridgeshire David Burrowes MP Conservative Enfield Southgate Hansard30 June 2014 Ian Swales MP Liberal Democrats Redcar John Pugh MP Liberal Democrats Southport Hansard8 September 2014 Justin Tomlinson MP Conservative North Swindon Stephen Phillips MP Conservative Sleaford and North Hykeham Hansard8 December 2014 Jackie Doyle Price MP Conservative Thurrock Stephen Hammond MP Conservative Wimbledon HansardChairs 1861 present editHouse of Commons standing orders give the party of the official Opposition the right to chair the committee 19 Year Chairman Party1861 63 Sir Francis Tornhill Baring Liberal1864 1866 Rt Hon Edward Pleydell Bouverie Liberal1866 Mr George Sclater Booth Conservative1867 68 Mr Hugh C E Childers Liberal1869 Mr William Pollard Urquhart Liberal1870 71 Rt Hon George Ward Hunt Conservative1872 73 Mr George Sclater Booth Conservative1874 76 Rt Hon John George Dodson Liberal1877 1880 Lord Frederick Cavendish Liberal1884 85 Sir Henry Holland Conservative1886 Sir John Eldon Gorst Conservative1887 88 Sir John Lubbock Liberal Unionist1889 92 Sir Ughtred Kay Shuttleworth Liberal1893 Mr Edmond Wodehouse Liberal Unionist1894 95 Sir Richard Temple Conservative1896 1900 Mr Arthur O Connor Irish National1901 05 Rt Hon Sir Arthur Hayter Liberal1906 08 Rt Hon Victor Christian William Cavendish Liberal Unionist1908 18 Col Robert Williams Unionist1919 20 Rt Hon Sir Francis Dyke Acland Liberal1921 22 Mr Aneurin Williams Liberal1923 Mr Frederick William Jowett JP Labour1924 Lt Col Rt Hon Walter Edward Guinness Conservative1924 29 Rt Hon Willian Graham JP Labour1929 31 Mr Arthur Michael Samuel Conservative1931 38 Mr Morgan Jones Labour1938 41 Rt Hon Frederick William Pethick Lawrence Labour1941 43 Lt Col Rt Hon Walter Elliot Unionist1943 45 Lt Col Sir Assheton Pownall OBE TD Unionist1946 48 Rt Hon Osbert Peake Conservative1948 50 Rt Hon Ralph Assheton Conservative1950 51 Sir Ronald Cross and Rt Hon Charles Waterhouse Conservative1951 52 Mr John Edwards Labour1952 59 Sir George Benson Labour1959 63 Rt Hon Harold Wilson Labour1963 64 Rt Hon A L N Douglas Houghton Labour1964 70 Rt Hon John Boyd Carpenter Conservative1970 73 Rt Hon Harold Lever Labour1972 73 Rt Hon Edmund Dell Acting chair during Harold Lever s illness Labour1974 79 Rt Hon Edward DuCann Conservative1979 83 Rt Hon Joel Barnett Labour1983 97 Rt Hon Robert Sheldon Labour1997 2001 Rt Hon David Davis Conservative2001 10 Rt Hon Sir Edward Leigh Conservative2010 15 Rt Hon Dame Margaret Hodge Labour2015 present Meg Hillier Labour and Co operativeSee also editList of Committees of the United Kingdom ParliamentReferences edit Holding Government to Account 150 years of the Committee of Public Accounts PDF UK Parliament 2007 Public Accounts Committee Moved For Parliamentary Debates Hansard Vol 166 House of Commons 31 March 1862 col 329 330 National Audit Office History of the National Audit Office Accessed 25 September 2012 Public Accounts Committee Membership Committees UK Parliament committees parliament uk Retrieved 8 June 2022 Public Accounts Committee Volume 720 debated on Monday 17 October 2022 hansard parliament ukv UK Hansard 17 October 2022 Retrieved 18 October 2022 That Helen Whately be discharged from the Public Accounts Committee and Felicity Buchan be added v Committees Volume 723 debated on Tuesday 29 November 2022 hansard parliament uk UK Hansard 29 November 2022 Retrieved 30 November 2022 That James Wild be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts Business without Debate Volume 733 debated on Tuesday 6 June 2023 hansard parliament uk UK Hansard 6 June 2023 Retrieved 9 June 2023 That James Cartlidge be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Gareth Davies be added Public Accounts Volume 735 debated on Monday 26 June 2023 hansard parliament uk UK Hansard 26 June 2023 Retrieved 29 June 2023 That Mr Louie French be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Ben Lake be added Sir Bill Wiggin on behalf of the Committee of Selection Business without Debate Volume 742 debated on Monday 11 December 2023 hansard parliament uk UK Hansard 11 December 2023 Retrieved 18 December 2023 Public Accounts Business without Debate Volume 742 debated on Monday 18 December 2023 hansard parliament uk UK Hansard 18 December 2023 Retrieved 18 December 2023 That Sir Simon Clarke be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Gary Sambrook be added Speaker s Statement Select Committee Chairs Parliamentary Debates Hansard Vol 627 Parliament of the United Kingdom House of Commons 12 July 2017 Public Accounts Parliamentary Debates Hansard Vol 628 Parliament of the United Kingdom House of Commons 11 September 2017 MP Chris Davies unseated after petition triggers by election BBC News 21 June 2019 Retrieved 30 June 2022 Speaker s Statement Parliamentary Debates Hansard Vol 597 Parliament of the United Kingdom House of Commons 18 June 2015 Public Accounts Parliamentary Debates Hansard Vol 598 Parliament of the United Kingdom House of Commons 7 July 2015 Tory MP Stephen Phillips quits over irreconcilable differences BBC News 4 November 2016 Retrieved 30 June 2022 Speaker s Statement Parliamentary Debates Hansard Vol 511 Parliament of the United Kingdom House of Commons 10 June 2010 Committees Parliamentary Debates Hansard Vol 513 Parliament of the United Kingdom House of Commons 12 July 2010 Standing Order 122B 8 f Further reading editDavid McGee The Overseers Public Accounts Committees and Public Spending Pluto Press London 2002 Stapenhurst Rick Sahgal Vinod Woodley William Pelizzo Riccardo World Bank 1 May 2005 Policy Research Working Paper WPS3613 Scrutinizing public expenditures assessing the performance of public accounts committees Pelizzo Riccardo Stapenhurst Rick Saghal Vinod and William Woodley What Makes Public Accounts Committees Work Politics and Policy vol 34 n 4 December 2006 pp 774 793 Riccardo Pelizzo and Rick Stapenhurst Strengthening Public Accounts Committees by Targeting Regional and Country Specific Weaknesses in Anwar Shah ed Performance Accountability and Combating Corruption Washington DC The World Bank 2007 pp 379 393 Jacobs K 1997 A reforming accountability International Journal of Health Planning and Management 12 169 85 Jacobs K 1998 Value for money auditing in New Zealand competing for control in the public sector British Accounting Review 30 343 360 Jones C 1987 The Origins of the Victorian Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee MA University of Melbourne External links editPublic Accounts Committee homepage Records for this Committee are held at the Parliamentary Archives Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Public Accounts Committee United Kingdom amp oldid 1196083990, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
