Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022

PART 4 Accountability

Corporate plan

9 (1) The Commission must submit a corporate plan to the Scottish Ministers.

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) must be complied with as soon as reasonably practicable after the day this paragraph comes into force.

(3) The corporate plan must set out how the Commission intends to exercise its functions.

(4) The corporate plan may include such other material as the Commission considers appropriate.

(5) The Scottish Ministers must—

(a) approve the corporate plan,

(b) approve the corporate plan with any modifications they consider appropriate, or

(c) decline to approve the corporate plan.

(6) Where the Scottish Ministers intend to approve the corporate plan with modifications, they must consult the Commission before doing so.

(7) If sub-paragraph (5)(b) or (c) applies, the Commission must, as soon as reasonably practicable, modify the corporate plan and submit the modified plan to the Scottish Ministers.

(8) Sub-paragraphs (5) to (7) apply to the corporate plan as modified.

(9) As soon as reasonably practicable after it is approved by the Scottish Ministers—

(a) the Commission must publish the corporate plan, and

(b) the Scottish Ministers must lay a copy of the corporate plan before the Scottish Parliament.

(10) The Commission—

(a) may revise the corporate plan at any time, and

(b) must revise the corporate plan when required to do so by the Scottish Ministers.

(11) Sub-paragraphs (1) and (3) to (10) apply to a revised corporate plan as they apply to the first corporate plan.

Accounts and audit

10 (1) The Commission must—

(a) keep proper accounts and accounting records,

(b) prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of accounts, and

(c) send a copy of the statement to the Auditor General for Scotland for auditing.

(2) The Commission must comply with any directions which the Scottish Ministers give it in relation to the matters mentioned in sub-paragraphs (1)(a) and (b).

Annual report

11 The Commission must, as soon as reasonably practicable after each financial year—

(a) prepare and make publicly available a report of its activities during the year,

(b) send a copy of the report to the Scottish Ministers, and

(c) lay a copy of the report before the Scottish Parliament.