Speaker's
Committee First Report 2009
1. The purpose of this report is to
place in the public domain the report of the Comptroller and Auditor
General under paragraph 16(1) of Schedule 1 of the Political Parties,
Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) on his examination
into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the
Commission has used its resources. The Committee has a statutory
obligation[1]
to have regard to the most recent such report when considering
the Electoral Commission's proposed Estimates and Corporate Plan.
The report, which we considered on 23 March 2009 in the context
of our examination of the draft Estimate for 2009-10 and draft
Corporate Plan for 2009-14, is reproduced in the Appendix.
2. The report considers the effectiveness
of the Electoral Commission in the regulation of political party
finances and makes four recommendations about how that effectiveness
could be improved. The report notes that the Political Parties
and Elections Bill, which is currently before Parliament, will
once enacted have a direct bearing on the Commission's regulatory
work and in particular on the sanctions available to it. We have
therefore thought it best to place the Comptroller and Auditor
General's Report in the public domain at the earliest opportunity.
3. We are grateful to the Comptroller
and Auditor General for producing his report. We will consider
the recommendations made in it and will discuss them with the
Electoral Commission. If we consider it appropriate, we will make
a further Report to the House.
1 By virtue of paragraphs 14 and 15 of Schedule 1
of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Back
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