Public expenditure and public accountability

Within a parliamentary democracy, both the Executive and Legislature have key roles in ensuring public accountability for budgetary decisions. The internal budgetary processes of the United Kingdom Government have developed the PESC system of planning public expenditure over a rolling five year period at constant prices. At the same time, the effectiveness of parliamentary financial procedures, far removed from the decision processes, has further declined. The key weaknesses are identified as: (1) the almost complete divorce between parliamentary discussion of expenditure and that of taxation; (2) the manner in which the Government's survival might be imperilled by defeat even on minor items, which limits the activities of Government backbenchers; (3) the unequal knowledge and resources of Government and Parliament, accentuated by British traditions of official secrecy; and (4) the failure of Parliament to seize those opportunities which are available (e.g. debates on the annual Public Expenditure White Paper). Proposals have been made for reform of financial procedures and for a new system of select committees by the Expenditure and Procedure Committees. These are evaluated and given a cautious approval. The emphasis is on the aim of integrating parliamentary debate of the expenditure and revenue sides of the public budget. A single budgetary document is proposed. Multi-year tax forecasts, and the underlying medium term economic assessment, should be published. 'Tax expenditures' should be carefully costed and linked to the relevant expenditure programmes. These reforms would provide a more coherent and comprehensive framework for public debate of budgetary decisions.