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Dimension 31.4 Transparency of legislative scrutiny of audit reports

DIMENSION MEASUREMENT GUIDANCE

31.4:1. This dimension assesses the transparency of the scrutiny function in terms of public access. Opening committee hearings to the public facilitates public scrutiny of the proceedings and is also a good opportunity for a legislative committee to inform the public about its work. Hearings can be ’open’ in a variety of ways, which range from allowing

exceptional public access to the committee room to inviting members of the public to speak on a subject. Public scrutiny can also be achieved either by transmission of the proceedings by the mass media, i.e., radio or TV, which allows citizens to follow what is currently happening in committees. Dimension 31.4 is focused on the existence of some form of general public access and does not specifically assess whether members of the public are invited to speak at hearings.

Dimension 31.4. Scoring

Score Minimum requirements for scores
A All hearings are conducted in public except for strictly limited circumstances such as discussions related to national security or similar sensitive discussions. Committee reports are debated in the full chamber of the legislature and published on an official website or by any other means easily accessible to the public.
B Hearings are conducted in public with a few exceptions in addition to national security or similar sensitive discussions. Committee reports are provided to the full chamber of the legislature and published on an official website or by any other means easily accessible to the public.
C Committee reports are published on an official website or by any other means easily accessible to the public.
D Performance is less than required for a C score.

 

Dimension 31.4. Timing, coverage and data requirements

Time period Coverage Data requirements/calculation Data sources
Last three completed fiscal years. CG.
  • Number of hearings on audit reports.
  • Number of hearings conducted in public.
  • Evidence that legislative committee reports on audits are debated in the full chamber of the legislature and published in a publicly accessible form
  • Legislature corroborated by SAI and civic interest groups.

 

PEFA Handbook Volume 1: The PEFA Assessment Process – Planning, Managing and Using PEFA

 
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