Auditor General for Wales

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Auditor General for Wales
Flag of Wales.svg
Flag of Wales
Incumbent
Adrian Crompton
since July 2018;7 years ago (2018-07)
Member of Audit Wales
Reports to Senedd
Appointer Monarch of the United Kingdom
Term length 8 years
Constituting instrument
Inaugural holder Jeremy Colman
FormationFebruary 2005;21 years ago (2005-02)
Website www.wao.gov.uk/about-us/whos-who/adrian-crompton

The Auditor General for Wales (Welsh : Archwilydd Cyffredinol Cymru) is the public official in charge of the Audit Wales, formerly known as the Welsh Audit Office, the body responsible for auditing the Welsh Government, its public bodies, National Health Service bodies and local government in Wales. The Auditor General for Wales is responsible for auditing £20 billion of taxpayers' money each year.

Contents

Public Audit (Wales) Act 2013
Act of the National Assembly for Wales
Royal Badge of Wales (2008).svg
Long title An Act of the National Assembly for Wales to make provision reforming audit arrangements in Wales; continuing the office of Auditor General for Wales and creating a new body to be known as the Wales Audit Office; providing for the Auditor General for Wales to audit local government bodies in Wales; and for connected purposes.
Citation 2013 anaw 3
Dates
Royal assent 29 April 2013
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2013 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

It is a statutory appointment made on the nomination of Senedd Cymru, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2013 (anaw 3).

The first full-time Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman, was appointed on 1 April 2005 for an initial five-year term subsequently extended in 2009 for a further three years. Colman resigned in February 2010 after an internal investigation at the Wales Audit Office [1] and subsequently pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children. [2]

Interim Auditor General, Gillian Body, took responsibility for running the office [3] prior to the appointment of Huw Vaughan Thomas, from 1 October 2010. In the aftermath of the jailing, the chair of the Assembly's public accounts committee commented that the office would recover and that a "golden future lay ahead" for the Office. [4]

Notable reports

In 2006, the Auditor General "took the unprecedented step" of holding public hearings, because the report was a substitute for public hearings. [5]

In 2010, the Auditor General described poverty as the "single major challenge" facing Wales at that time. [6]

See also

References

  1. "Former Auditor General charged with making indecent images". Media Wales . Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  2. "Ex-Wales auditor general admits child image offences". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1 November 2010. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. "The Auditor General for Wales". Wales Audit Office. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  4. "Audit Office will recover after ex-head's jailing, says AM". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  5. Alys, Thomas. "Chapter 4: 'Parliamentary Officers' in Wales: Evolving Roles" (PDF). University College London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  6. Herd, George (1 November 2022). "Poverty: Single major challenge facing Wales - warning". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2024.