7. Statement by the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee on the outgoing Auditor General for Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:42 pm on 18 July 2018.

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Photo of Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay Conservative 4:42, 18 July 2018

Thank you, Adam Price. I know very little about auditors in Brazil; it does sound a bit like a film, doesn't it? So, I'll leave that for other people to comment on.

There's going to be very little disagreement, I sense, in this statement. Adam, you've cited the auditor general's role in innovating and driving the agenda forward, and you're totally right. I think before Members go on the Public Accounts Committee—it's a little bit similar to finance, in this respect—I think they do think it's going to be a very dry subject, and that auditing is something that a certain type of person does in an office somewhere, or wherever it might be, out in the field. Of course, the reality, as you know, and I know, and previous chairs of PAC know, is that, actually, the reality is quite different. You're right; Huw has had a role in terms of driving the agenda forward—innovating, a key word—and a role of leadership. So, the job of the auditor general is something that, I think, has clearly changed over the years and will change in the future, but he does leave a legacy there of which he can be rightly proud.

We often talk about this place—initially the Assembly and now as it transforms into a Parliament—in establishing a new future for Wales. It's not just down to us in this Chamber here and the public; there are certain key figures who, throughout time, can be cited in the development of Westminster as being key, and they will be cited here. I've no doubt at all that in the future, people will look back and they will say that Huw's role as an auditor general came at a key point, and he didn't just transform the organisation of the Wales Audit Office, he also will have a role in transforming Wales as well.