Member

Amendment 249 seeks to give audit committees a more forward-looking role, enabling them to scrutinise not just the past use of resources but future plans for their allocation and use. As I am sure we all agree, well-functioning audit committees are the cornerstone of local accountability and transparency. It is therefore important that we get this right. That said, I do not believe that it is necessary to prescribe this level of detail regarding the assessment of resources in the Bill. Audit committees already have scope to consider future plans as part of their wider governance responsibilities. This flexibility should remain. We do not need to specify this in statute.