My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lords, Lord Morrow and Lord Dodds of Duncairn, and to my noble friend Lord Empey. I too regret that he cannot be here this afternoon; I understand that family commitments in Belfast detain him, and we all wish him well.
4.30 pm
The amendments in the names of the noble Lord, Lord Morrow, and my noble friend Lord Empey all seek to require the publication of various pieces of information on the three bodies and commissioners established by the Bill, largely on their running costs and the cost of the associated duties.
I again refer noble Lords to what I said on this in Committee, some of which was raised by the noble Lord, Lord Morrow. I do not intend again to go over in detail what I said but, consistent with the responsibilities of the Executive that were agreed by parties in the New Decade, New Approach agreement and the associated draft legislation, all provisions of the Bill are a matter for the Executive to administer, support and fund. It follows, therefore, that expenditure from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund, including expenditure on the three public authorities established by the Bill, is for the Northern Ireland Assembly to scrutinise and not this Parliament.
That is why the financial accounts of all three authorities must be laid before the Assembly alongside the statement of the Comptroller and Auditor-General for Northern Ireland, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Dodds of Duncairn. I am in no doubt whatever that a restored Assembly will provide appropriate and robust scrutiny of the annual accounts of the three authorities, including where these raise any questions of parity of esteem.
I am also in no doubt that the reporting and governance mechanisms for public authorities to which the duties will apply will provide sufficient transparency if there are any significant or notable costs in their work to meet these duties. Indeed, the Bill expressly provides for public authorities to publish a plan saying how they will comply with any best practice standards. I expect this mechanism will support the scrutiny of the work and any cost impacts, to which the noble Lord referred, on public authorities seeking to meet their legal duty in this regard.
I will respond more directly to a couple of the points made. The functions of the respective commissioners in the Bill reflect New Decade, New Approach almost word for word. Although the budget for each commissioner will be a matter for the Executive, we envisage that they will be comparable. We estimate that the cost for all three authorities will be in the region of £9 million per annum.
The Government therefore feel that the amendments proposed by noble Lords are not required, although I completely understand and recognise the intent behind them. I urge the noble Lord, Lord Morrow, to withdraw his amendment.