Statement of Principles
Statement of Principles
Directly Funded Bodies (DFBs) receive their directly funding from the Welsh Consolidated Fund; these include the:
- Senedd Commission;
- Auditor General for Wales and
the Wales Audit Office;
- Public Services Ombudsman for
Wales; and
- Electoral Commission – (The Senedd
and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 provides for the funding of the
Electoral Commission’s work on devolved Welsh elections and devolved Welsh
referendums from the Welsh Consolidated Fund).
These bodies have distinct budget setting and oversight arrangements to reflect their unique role and independence from the Welsh Government.
The Finance Committee is responsible for considering and reporting on the budgets/estimate of the Senedd Commission, Auditor General for Wales and the Wales Audit Office, and the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. The Llywydd’s Committee is responsible for considering and reporting on the Electoral Commission’s estimate with regard to its functions in relation to devolved Welsh elections and referendums.
During the Fifth Senedd, the Finance Committee undertook a short inquiry into the funding of DFBs, with the aim of ensuring a consistent approach was taken by DFBs when preparing their annual budget proposals.
In May 2019, as an output of this inquiry, the Committee issued a Statement of Principles (“the Principles”) (PDF, 224KB) that the Committee expected DFBs to have regard to when making budget proposals. (At this time the Electoral Commission’s functions did not fall under the Senedd’s responsibilities).
Review of the Statement of Principles
Paragraph 9 of the Principles gives a commitment that the Committee will review the document the year of implementation and periodically thereafter.
In 2020, the year following their implementation, the Committee reviewed the Principles and concluded that they were fit for purpose and no changes were made.
At the start of the Sixth Senedd on 8 July 2021, the Committee agreed that the DFBs should continue to follow the current Principles (PDF, 294KB) when preparing their budget documentation. The Committee wrote to the Deputy Presiding Officer, in his role as Chair of the Llywydd’s Committee, to suggest that the Principles should apply to the Electoral Commission to ensure a consistent approach.
On 26 April 2023, the Committee agreed that it was an appropriate time to review the Principles and wrote (PDF 158KB) to the DFBs seeking their views.
Business type: Budget Scrutiny
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: Stage 1
First published: 04/08/2021
Documents
- Letter to the Minister for Finance and Local Government on the review of the statement of principles - 18 October 2023 PDF 196 KB
- Letter from the Chair of the Finance Committee regarding an update on the review of the statement of principles - 18 October 2023 PDF 252 KB
- Letter from the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Information to assist DFBs preparing their Estimates/Budgets - 12 July 2023 PDF 157 KB
- Letter to the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Review of the Statement of Principles - 9 May 2023 PDF 201 KB
- Letter from the Chair of the Finance Committee to the Directly Funded Bodies – Review of the Statement of Principles – 4 May 2023 PDF 158 KB
- Letter from the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Information to assist DFBs preparing their Estimates/Budgets - 14 July 2022 PDF 156 KB
- Letter from the Chair of the Llywydd’s Committee regarding financial oversight of the Electoral Commission – 9 September 2021 PDF 365 KB View as HTML (7) 11 KB
- Letter from the Minister for Finance and Local Government: Financial information for Directly Funded Bodies to consider in their budget planning - 2 August 2021 PDF 263 KB
- Letter from the Chair of the Finance Committee to the Chair of the Llywydd’s Committee: Financial oversight of bodies funded directly via the Welsh Consolidated Fund - 15 July 2021 PDF 207 KB
- Statement of Principles that the Finance Committee of the Senedd expects Directly Funded Bodies to have regard to when making budget proposals - July 2021 PDF 294 KB View as HTML (10) 32 KB
- Statement of Principles that the Finance Committee of the Senedd expects Directly Funded Bodies to have regard to when making budget proposals – May 2019