Scottish Parliamentary Commissions and Commissioners etc. Act 2010

Finance S

19 Accountable officer S

(1) The Parliamentary corporation must designate [F1 the Commissioner] or a member of the [F2 Commissioner’s] staff as the accountable officer for the purposes of this section.

(2) The functions of the accountable officer are—

(a) signing the accounts of the expenditure and receipts of the [F3 Commissioner],

(b) ensuring the propriety and regularity of the finances of the [F3 Commissioner],

(c) ensuring that the resources of the [F3 Commissioner] are used economically, efficiently and effectively, and

(d) the duty in subsection (3).

(3) Where the accountable officer[F4 is not the Commissioner and] is required to act in some way but considers that to do so would be inconsistent with the proper performance of a function set out in subsection (2)(a) to (c), the accountable officer must—

(a) obtain written authority from the [F5 Commissioner] before taking the action, and

(b) as soon as possible, send a copy of the authority to the Auditor General for Scotland.

(4) The accountable officer is answerable to the Parliament for the performance of the functions in subsection (2).

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 19(1) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(a)(i)

F2 Word in s. 19(1) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(a)(ii)

F3 Word in s. 19(2) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(b)

F4 Words in s. 19(3) inserted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(c)(i)

F5 Word in s. 19(3)(a) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(c)(ii)

20 Budget S

(1) The [F6 Commissioner] must, before the start of each financial year, prepare proposals for [F7 the Commissioner’s] use of resources and expenditure during the year (a “budget”) and, by such date as the Parliamentary corporation determines, send the budget to the Parliamentary corporation for approval.

(2) The [F8 Commissioner] may, in the course of a financial year, prepare a revised budget for the remainder of the year and send it to the Parliamentary corporation for approval.

(3) In preparing a budget or a revised budget, the [F9 Commissioner] must ensure that the resources of the [F9 Commissioner] will be used economically, efficiently and effectively.

(4) A budget or revised budget must contain a statement that the [F10 Commissioner] has complied with the duty under subsection (3).

Textual Amendments

F6 Word in s. 20(1) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 22(a)(i)

F7 Words in s. 20(1) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 22(a)(ii)

F8 Word in s. 20(2) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 22(b)

F9 Word in s. 20(3) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 22(b)

F10 Word in s. 20(4) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 22(b)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 20(1) applied (with modifications) (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 4 para. 4

21 Funding S

(1) The Parliamentary corporation is to—

(a) pay the remuneration and allowances of [F11 the] Commissioner,

(b) pay any expenses properly incurred by the [F12 Commissioner] in the performance of [F13 the Commissioner’s] functions, so far as not met out of sums received and applied by [F14 the Commissioner] under section 12(5),

(c) indemnify the F15 ... Commissioner in respect of any liabilities incurred by [F16 the] Commissioner in the performance of [F17 the] Commissioner's functions.

(2) Subsection (1)(b) does not require the Parliamentary corporation to pay any expenses incurred by the [F18 Commissioner] which exceed or are otherwise not covered by a budget or, as the case may be, a revised budget approved under section 20.

(3) However, the Parliamentary corporation may pay those expenses.

Textual Amendments

F11 Word in s. 21(1)(a) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 23(a)

F12 Word in s. 21(1)(b) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 23(b)(i)

F13 Words in s. 21(1)(b) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 23(b)(ii)

F14 Words in s. 21(1)(b) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 23(b)(iii)

F15 Words in s. 21(1)(c) omitted (1.7.2013) by virtue of The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 23(c)(i)

F16 Word in s. 21(1)(c) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 23(c)(ii)

F17 Word in s. 21(1)(c) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 23(c)(iii)

F18 Word in s. 21(2) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 23(d)

22 Accounts and audit S

(1) The [F19 Commissioner] must, in accordance with any directions in that regard given by the Scottish Ministers—

(a) keep proper accounts and accounting records,

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

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

(2) If requested by any person, the [F19 Commissioner] must make the audited accounts available, at any reasonable time, without charge and in printed or electronic form, so that they may be inspected by that person.

Textual Amendments

F19 Word in s. 22 substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 24