Public Accounts Committee (United Kingdom)

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The Committee of Public Accounts is a select committee of the British House of Commons. It is responsible for overseeing government expenditures, and to ensure they are effective and honest. The committee is seen as a crucial mechanism for ensuring transparency and accountability in government financial operations, having been described by Professor the Lord Hennessy as "the queen of the select committees...[which] by its very existence exert[s] a cleansing effect in all government departments". [1]

Contents

Overview

The recommendation for the creation of a committee to oversee government accounts was first put forward in 1857 by a small group of interested Members of Parliament led by Sir Francis Baring. The structure and function of the PAC date back to reforms initiated by William Ewart Gladstone, when he was British Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1860s. The first Public Accounts Committee was established in 1862 by a resolution of the British House of Commons:

There shall be a standing committee designated "The Committee of Public Accounts"; for the examination of the Accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament to meet the Public Expenditure, to consist of nine members, who shall be nominated at the commencement of every Session, and of whom five shall be a quorum. [2]

The form has since been replicated in virtually all Commonwealth of Nations and many non-Commonwealth countries. A minister from His Majesty's Treasury sits on the committee but, by convention, does not attend hearings. The Chair of the committee is always drawn from the main opposition party and is usually a former senior Minister.

The Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 appointed The Committee of Public Accounts to oversee the work of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) [3] The Committee continues to be assisted by the C&AG who is a permanent witness at its hearings, along with his staff of the National Audit Office, who provide briefings on each report and assist in the preparation of the Committee's own reports.

Membership

2024-present

Membership of the committee is as follows: [4]

MemberPartyConstituency
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP (Chair) Conservative North Cotswolds
Nesil Caliskan MP Labour Barking
Luke Charters MP Labour York Outer
Anna Dixon MP Labour Shipley
Peter Fortune MP Conservative Bromley and Biggin Hill
Rachel Gilmour MP Liberal Democrats Tiverton and Minehead
Sarah Green MP Liberal Democrats Chesham and Amersham
Sarah Hall MP Labour Warrington South
Lloyd Hatton MP Labour South Dorset
Chris Kane MP Labour Stirling and Stratahallan
James Murray MP Labour Ealing North
Sarah Olney MP Liberal Democrats Richmond Park
Rebecca Paul MP Conservative Reigate
Michael Payne MP Labour Gedling
Oliver Ryan MP Labour Burnley

The Committee's members from December 2023 to July 2024 are as follows: [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

MemberPartyConstituency
Dame Meg Hillier DBE MP (Chair) Labour and Co-operative Party Hackney South and Shoreditch
Gary Sambrook MP Conservative Party Birmingham Northfield
Dan Carden MP Labour Party Liverpool Walton
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP Conservative Party The Cotswolds
Mark Francois MP Conservative Party Rayleigh and Wickford
Ben Lake MP Plaid Cymru Ceredigion
Olivia Blake MP Labour Party Sheffield Hallam
Jonathan Djanogly MP Conservative Party Huntingdon
Sir Jeremy Quin MP Conservative Party Horsham
Flick Drummond MP Conservative Party Meon Valley
Sarah Olney MP Liberal Democrats Richmond Park
Sarah Owen MP Labour Party Luton North
Anne Marie Morris MP Conservative Party Newton Abbot
Paula Barker MP Labour Party Liverpool Wavertree
Gareth Davies MP Conservative Party Grantham and Stamford
Peter Grant MP Scottish National Party Glenrothes

Changes since 2019

DateOutgoing Member
& Party		Constituency→New Member
& Party		ConstituencySource
21 September 2020 Bridget Phillipson MP (Labour) Houghton and Sunderland South → Barry Gardiner MP (Labour) Brent North Hansard
9 November 2020 Gagan Mohindra MP (Conservative) South West Hertfordshire → Shaun Bailey MP (Conservative) West Bromwich West Hansard
20 April 2021 Shabana Mahmood MP (Labour) Birmingham Ladywood → Dan Carden MP (Labour) Liverpool Walton Hansard
25 May 2021 Bernard Jenkin MP (Conservative) Harwich and North Essex → Mark Francois MP (Conservative) Rayleigh and Wickford Hansard
New seat Antony Higginbotham MP (Conservative) Burnley
13 July 2021 Olivia Blake MP (Labour) Sheffield Hallam → Kate Osamor MP (Labour) Edmonton Hansard
30 November 2021 Kemi Badenoch MP (Conservative) Saffron Walden → Helen Whately MP (Conservative) Faversham and Mid Kent Hansard
8 February 2022 Barry Gardiner MP (Labour) Brent North → Kate Green MP (Labour) Stretford and Urmston Hansard
15 March 2022 Gareth Bacon MP (Conservative) Orpington → Louie French MP (Conservative) Old Bexley and Sidcup Hansard
Richard Holden MP (Conservative) North West Durham Angela Richardson MP (Conservative) Guildford

2017–2019 Parliament

The chair was elected on 12 July 2017, with members being announced on 11 September 2017. [12] [13]

MemberPartyConstituency
Meg Hillier MP (Chair) Labour and Co-op Hackney South and Shoreditch
Bim Afolami MP Conservative Hitchin and Harpenden
Heidi Allen MP Conservative South Cambridgeshire
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP Conservative The Cotswolds
Martyn Day MP SNP Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Chris Evans MP Labour and Co-op Islwyn
Caroline Flint MP Labour Don Valley
Luke Graham MP Conservative Ochil and South Perthshire
Andrew Jones MP Conservative Harrogate and Knaresborough
Gillian Keegan MP Conservative Chichester
Shabana Mahmood MP Labour Birmingham Ladywood
Nigel Mills MP Conservative Amber Valley
Layla Moran MP Liberal Democrats Oxford West and Abingdon
Bridget Phillipson MP Labour Houghton and Sunderland South
Gareth Snell MP Labour and Co-op Stoke-on-Trent Central

Changes 2017–2019

DateOutgoing Member
& Party		Constituency→New Member
& Party		ConstituencySource
5 February 2018 Andrew Jones MP (Conservative) Harrogate and Knaresborough → Robert Jenrick MP (Conservative) Newark Hansard
20 February 2018 Heidi Allen MP (Conservative) South Cambridgeshire → Anne Marie Morris MP (Conservative) Newton Abbot Hansard
Nigel Mills MP (Conservative) Amber Valley Lee Rowley MP (Conservative) North East Derbyshire
9 July 2018 Martyn Day MP (SNP) Linlithgow and East Falkirk → Douglas Chapman MP (SNP) Dunfermline and West Fife Hansard
22 October 2018 Bim Afolami MP (Conservative) Hitchin and Harpenden → Chris Davies MP (Conservative) Brecon and Radnorshire Hansard
Luke Graham MP (Conservative) Ochil and South Perthshire Nigel Mills MP (Conservative) Amber Valley
3 December 2018 Gillian Keegan MP (Conservative) Chichester → Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP (Conservative) Berwick-upon-Tweed Hansard
21 June 2019 Chris Davies MP (Conservative) Brecon and Radnorshire →VacantRecall of member from Parliament [14]

2015–2017 Parliament

The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 7 July 2015. [15] [16]

MemberPartyConstituency
Meg Hillier MP (Chair) Labour and Co-op Hackney South and Shoreditch
Richard Bacon MP Conservative South Norfolk
Harriett Baldwin MP Conservative West Worcestershire
Deidre Brock MP SNP Edinburgh North and Leith
Kevin Foster MP Conservative Torbay
Stewart Jackson MP Conservative Peterborough
Clive Lewis MP Labour Norwich South
Nigel Mills MP Conservative Amber Valley
David Mowat MP Conservative Warrington South
Teresa Pearce MP Labour Erith and Thamesmead
Stephen Phillips MP Conservative Sleaford and North Hykeham
John Pugh MP Liberal Democrats Southport
Nick Smith MP Labour Blaenau Gwent
Karin Smyth MP Labour Bristol South
Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP Conservative Berwick-upon-Tweed

Changes 2015–2017

DateOutgoing Member
& Party		Constituency→New Member
& Party		ConstituencySource
26 October 2015 Clive Lewis MP (Labour) Norwich South → Chris Evans MP (Labour and Co-op) Islwyn Hansard
Teresa Pearce MP (Labour) Erith and Thamesmead Caroline Flint MP (Labour) Don Valley
Nick Smith MP (Labour) Blaenau Gwent Bridget Phillipson MP (Labour) Houghton and Sunderland South
12 September 2016 Deidre Brock MP (SNP) Edinburgh North and Leith → Phil Boswell MP (SNP) Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill Hansard
10 October 2016 Harriett Baldwin MP (Conservative) West Worcestershire → Simon Kirby MP (Conservative) Brighton Kemptown Hansard
31 October 2016 Stewart Jackson MP (Conservative) Peterborough → Charlie Elphicke MP (Conservative) Dover Hansard
David Mowat MP (Conservative) Brighton Kemptown Kwasi Kwarteng MP (Conservative) Spelthorne
4 November 2016 Stephen Phillips MP (Conservative) Sleaford and North Hykeham →VacantResignation of member from Parliament [17]
28 November 2016Vacant→ Anne Marie Morris MP (Conservative) Newton Abbot Hansard

2010–2015 Parliament

The chair was elected on 10 June 2010, with members being announced on 12 July 2010. [18] [19]

MemberPartyConstituency
Margaret Hodge MP (Chair) Labour Barking
Richard Bacon MP Conservative South Norfolk
Steve Barclay MP Conservative North East Cambridgeshire
Jackie Doyle-Price MP Conservative Thurrock
Justine Greening MP Conservative Putney
Matt Hancock MP Conservative West Suffolk
Chris Heaton-Harris MP Conservative Daventry
Jo Johnson MP Conservative Orpington
Eric Joyce MP Labour Falkirk
Anne McGuire MP Labour Stirling
Austin Mitchell MP Labour Great Grimsby
Nick Smith MP Labour Blaenau Gwent
Ian Swales MP Liberal Democrats Redcar
James Wharton MP Conservative Stockton South

Changes 2010–2015

DateOutgoing Member
& Party		Constituency→New Member
& Party		ConstituencySource
2 November 2010 Eric Joyce MP (Labour) Falkirk → Stella Creasy MP (Labour) Walthamstow Hansard
24 October 2011 Stella Creasy MP (Labour) Walthamstow → Meg Hillier MP (Labour) Hackney South and Shoreditch Hansard
Anne McGuire MP (Labour) Stirling Fiona Mactaggart MP (Labour) Slough
31 October 2011 Justine Greening MP (Conservative) Putney → Chloe Smith MP (Conservative) Norwich North Hansard
27 February 2012 Jo Johnson MP (Conservative) Orpington → Stewart Jackson MP (Conservative) Peterborough Hansard
4 September 2012 Chloe Smith MP (Conservative) Norwich North → Sajid Javid MP (Conservative) Bromsgrove
12 November 2012 Matt Hancock MP (Conservative) West Suffolk → Guto Bebb MP (Conservative) Aberconwy Hansard
James Wharton MP (Conservative) Stockton South Justin Tomlinson MP (Conservative) North Swindon
25 November 2013 Sajid Javid MP (Conservative) Bromsgrove → Nicky Morgan MP (Conservative) Loughborough Hansard
7 April 2014 Fiona Mactaggart MP (Labour) Slough → Anne McGuire MP (Labour) Stirling Hansard
12 May 2014 Nicky Morgan MP (Conservative) Loughborough → Andrea Leadsom MP (Conservative) South Northamptonshire Hansard
23 June 2014 Steve Barclay MP (Conservative) North East Cambridgeshire → David Burrowes MP (Conservative) Enfield Southgate Hansard
30 June 2014 Ian Swales MP (Liberal Democrats) Redcar → John Pugh MP (Liberal Democrats) Southport Hansard
8 September 2014 Justin Tomlinson MP (Conservative) North Swindon → Stephen Phillips MP (Conservative) Sleaford and North Hykeham Hansard
8 December 2014 Jackie Doyle-Price MP (Conservative) Thurrock → Stephen Hammond MP (Conservative) Wimbledon Hansard

Chairs (1861–present)

House of Commons standing orders give the party of the official Opposition the right to chair the committee. [20]

YearChairmanParty
1861–63Sir Francis Tornhill Baring Liberal
1864–1866Rt Hon Edward Pleydell-Bouverie Liberal
1866Mr George Sclater-Booth Conservative
1867–68Mr Hugh C E Childers Liberal
1869Mr William Pollard-Urquhart Liberal
1870–71Rt Hon George Ward Hunt Conservative
1872–73Mr George Sclater-Booth Conservative
1874–76Rt Hon John George Dodson Liberal
1877–1880 Lord Frederick Cavendish Liberal
1884–85Sir Henry Holland Conservative
1886Sir John Eldon Gorst Conservative
1887–88Sir John Lubbock Liberal Unionist
1889–92Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth Liberal
1893Mr Edmond Wodehouse Liberal Unionist
1894–95Sir Richard Temple Conservative
1896–1900Mr Arthur O'Connor Irish National
1901–05Rt Hon Sir Arthur Hayter Liberal
1906–08Rt Hon Victor Christian William Cavendish Liberal Unionist
1908–18Col Robert Williams Unionist
1919–20Rt Hon Sir Francis Dyke Acland Liberal
1921–22Mr Aneurin Williams Liberal
1923Mr Frederick William Jowett JP Labour
1924Lt Col Rt Hon Walter Edward Guinness Conservative
1924–29Rt Hon Willian Graham JP Labour
1929–31Mr Arthur Michael Samuel Conservative
1931–38Mr Morgan Jones Labour
1938–41Rt Hon Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence Labour
1941–43Lt Col Rt Hon Walter Elliot Unionist
1943–45Lt Col Sir Assheton Pownall OBE TDUnionist
1946–48Rt Hon Osbert Peake Conservative
1948–50Rt Hon Ralph Assheton Conservative
1950–51Sir Ronald Cross and Rt Hon Charles Waterhouse Conservative
1951–52Mr John Edwards Labour
1952–59Sir George Benson Labour
1959–63Rt Hon Harold Wilson Labour
1963–64Rt Hon A.L.N. Douglas Houghton Labour
1964–70Rt Hon John Boyd-Carpenter Conservative
1970–73Rt Hon Harold Lever Labour
1972–73Rt Hon Edmund Dell (Acting chair during Harold Lever's illness) Labour
1974–79Rt Hon Edward DuCann Conservative
1979–83Rt Hon Joel Barnett Labour
1983–97Rt Hon Robert Sheldon Labour
1997–2001Rt Hon David Davis Conservative
2001–10Rt Hon Sir Edward Leigh Conservative
2010–15Rt Hon Dame Margaret Hodge Labour
2015–24 Meg Hillier Labour and Co-operative
2024–present Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Conservative

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Holding Government to Account: 150 years of the Committee of Public Accounts" (PDF). UK Parliament. 2007.
  2. ↑ "Public Accounts—Committee Moved For". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 166. House of Commons. 31 March 1862. col. 329–330.
  3. ↑ National Audit Office History of the National Audit Office, Accessed 25 September 2012
  4. ↑ "Public Accounts Committee". UK Parliament. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  5. ↑ "Public Accounts Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Public Accounts Committee Volume 720: debated on Monday 17 October 2022". hansard.parliament.ukv. UK Hansard. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022. That Helen Whately be discharged from the Public Accounts Committee and Felicity Buchan be added.v
  7. ↑ "Committees Volume 723: debated on Tuesday 29 November 2022". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022. That James Wild be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts.
  8. ↑ "Business without Debate Volume 733: debated on Tuesday 6 June 2023". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023. That James Cartlidge be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Gareth Davies be added
  9. ↑ "Public Accounts Volume 735: debated on Monday 26 June 2023". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023. That Mr Louie French be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Ben Lake be added.—(Sir Bill Wiggin, on behalf of the Committee of Selection.)
  10. ↑ "Business without Debate Volume 742: debated on Monday 11 December 2023". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023. Public Accounts
  11. ↑ "Business without Debate Volume 742: debated on Monday 18 December 2023". hansard.parliament.uk/. UK Hansard. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023. That Sir Simon Clarke be discharged from the Committee of Public Accounts and Gary Sambrook be added.
  12. ↑ "Speaker's Statement: Select Committee Chairs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 627. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 12 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "Public Accounts". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 628. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 11 September 2017.
  14. ↑ "MP Chris Davies unseated after petition triggers by-election". BBC News. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Speaker's Statement". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 597. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 18 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Public Accounts". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 598. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 7 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Tory MP Stephen Phillips quits over 'irreconcilable differences'". BBC News. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Speaker's Statement". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 511. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 10 June 2010.
  19. ↑ "Committees". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 513. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 12 July 2010.
  20. ↑ Standing Order 122B(8)(f)

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