Public Accounts Committee heads to UK for training

by Linda Straker

• Public Accounts Committee will participate in a 3-day training next week
• Opposition Leader Emmalin Pierre chairs Public Accounts Committee
• Andrew Augustine, Clerk of Parliament, will accompany the committee

Conducting inquiries and questioning officials who are summoned before them are among some of the topics that will be discussed when all members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the Parliament participate in a 3-day training next week at the Palace of Westminster, which is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. MPs from Grenada are sponsored by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK branch for the training.

The chairperson of the PAC is Opposition Leader Emmalin Pierre. The other members are Dr Clarice Modeste and Kate Lewis in the Lower House, and Roderick St Clair and Salim Rahaman in the Upper House.

Andrew Augustine, the Clerk of Parliament, will accompany the committee to the training, which aims to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively scrutinise public spending and ensure accountability.

The committee and Augustine are scheduled to arrive in London next Monday. The training, which should cover topics such as financial management, audit processes, the role of the PAC, and effective questioning techniques, will commence on Tuesday and conclude on Thursday.

The duty of the Public Accounts Committee is to examine the audited accounts of the state as well as the accounts of corporations, boards and other bodies appointed by the Government, and reports to the House.

The committee also scrutinises financial accounts as well as the value for money — the economy, efficiency and effectiveness — of public spending and generally holds the government and its civil servants to account for the delivery of public services.