Section 19 Accountable officer

(1)

The Parliamentary corporation must designate F1the Commissioner or a member of the F2Commissioner’s staff as the accountable officer for the purposes of this section.

(2)

The functions of the accountable officer are—

(a)

signing the accounts of the expenditure and receipts of the F3Commissioner,

(b)

ensuring the propriety and regularity of the finances of the Commissioner,

(c)

ensuring that the resources of the Commissioner are used economically, efficiently and effectively, and

(d)

the duty in subsection (3).

(3)

Where the accountable officerF4is not the Commissioner and is required to act in some way but considers that to do so would be inconsistent with the proper performance of a function set out in subsection (2)(a) to (c), the accountable officer must—

(a)

obtain written authority from the F5Commissioner before taking the action, and

(b)

as soon as possible, send a copy of the authority to the Auditor General for Scotland.

(4)

The accountable officer is answerable to the Parliament for the performance of the functions in subsection (2).

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Words in s. 19(1) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(a)(i)
F2: Word in s. 19(1) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(a)(ii)
F3: Word in s. 19(2) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(b)
F4: Words in s. 19(3) inserted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(c)(i)
F5: Word in s. 19(3)(a) substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 21(c)(ii)

Notes on Part 1

Textual amendments

F1: Pt. 1 heading substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 31