Housing Act 1996

[F1 15 (1) The accounting officer for the Office of the Ombudsman shall be the Ombudsman. U.K.

(2) But where—

(a) the Ombudsman is incapable of discharging his responsibilities as accounting officer, or

(b) the office of the Ombudsman is vacant (and there is no acting Ombudsman),

the Treasury may designate a member of the Ombudsman’s staff to be the accounting officer for so long as paragraph (a) or (b) applies.

(3) The accounting officer for the Office of the Ombudsman shall have, in relation to—

(a) the accounts of the Ombudsman, and

(b) the finances of the Office of the Ombudsman,

the responsibilities which are from time to time specified by the Treasury.

(4) In this paragraph references to responsibilities include in particular—

(a) responsibilities in relation to the signing of accounts,

(b) responsibilities for the propriety and regularity of the finances of the Office of the Ombudsman, and

(c) responsibilities for the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the resources of the Office of the Ombudsman are used.

(5) The responsibilities which may be specified under this paragraph include responsibilities owed to—

(a) the National Assembly for Wales, the executive committee or the Audit Committee, or

(b) the House of Commons or its Committee of Public Accounts.

(6) If requested to do so by the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, the Audit Committee may—

(a) on behalf of the Committee of Public Accounts take evidence from the accounting officer for the Office of the Ombudsman, and

(b) report to the Committee of Public Accounts and transmit to that Committee any evidence so taken.

(7) In this paragraph and paragraphs 16 and 17, “the Office of the Ombudsman” means the Ombudsman and the members of his staff.

(8) Section 13 of the National Audit Act 1983 (interpretation of references to the Committee of Public Accounts) applies for the purposes of this paragraph as for those of that Act.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 2A inserted (14.7.2005) by Housing Act 2004 (c. 34), s. 270(7), Sch. 12; S.I. 2005/1814, arts. 1(2), 2(e)