Report On The Inquiry Into The Scrutiny Of The Northern Ireland Executives Budget And Expenditure PDF Download

This Third report marks the completion of the Committee's inquiry into the role of the Northern Ireland Assembly in scrutinising the Executive's budget and expenditure, which it commenced in July 2008. The Inquiry aimed to maximise the Assembly's contribution to the Northern Ireland budget process and to enhance the role of Assembly statutory committees and Members in budget and financial scrutiny. This final report further examines the process and procedures for scrutinising and agreeing Executive budgets and also considers the resources available to assist Assembly committees and Members in this regard and the approaches to such scrutiny. In previous consideration of Executive spending plans and the draft Budget 2011-15, members noted that a majority of Assembly statutory committees were dissatisfied at the level of engagement with their respective departments and the level of detail available on departmental spending proposals. The Committee is concerned that such repeated failures compromise the ability of the Assembly to fulfil its scrutiny role effectively, and believes this is exacerbated by the lack of a regularised budget process. A number of practical measures are therefore set out in this Report, aimed at establishing stronger procedures and processes, which will enable the Assembly to fully exercise its role in this regard.