§ Mr. Robert SheldonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what conclusions the Government have reached on the appointment of accounting officers for agencies established under the Next Steps initiative.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe Public Accounts Committee has informed the Treasury that it supports the250W recommendation of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee that the chief executive of an agency should be its accounting officer, with the proviso that if the agency's expenditure were only part of a Vote, or spread over several Votes, the chief executive should be formally appointed an accounting officer by the departmental accounting officer; and that in these circumstances the PAC would probably wish to take evidence from both accounting officers.
The Government accept the view of the Public Accounts Committee. If, therefore, an agency has its own Vote, or is a separate Department, the Treasury will appoint the chief executive as accounting officer. Where an agency does not have its own Vote and remains part of a Government Department financed from one or more Vote subheads, the departmental accounting officer will designate the chief executive as agency accounting officer, and send him a letter of appointment defining his duties as agency accounting officer in the light of the powers and responsibilities assigned to him in the agency framework document.