CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
House Committee
The House Committee consists of all members of the council other than the President and ex-officio members. Its chairman and deputy chairman are elected from among its members. The House Committee performs overall co-ordinating functions in respect of the business of the council and its committees.
When the council is in session, the House Committee meets every week to discuss council business and prepare for sittings of the full council. Regularly on the agenda of these meetings are reports on subsidiary legislation tabled in the council; questions that members intend to put to the government; motions and bills to be debated; and any other matters of public concern or relating to the business of the council.
The House Committee may appoint sub-committees to assist in the consideration of specific subsidiary legislation and issues of public concern.
Public Accounts Committee
The prime concern of the Public Accounts Committee is to see that public expenditure has not been incurred for purposes other than those for which the funds have been granted, that full value has been obtained for the sums expended, and that the government has not been faulty or negligent in its conduct of financial affairs.
The committee, established in 1978, consists of a chairman and six members nominated by the President of the council. It examines reports of the Director of Audit on the government's annual statements of account, prepared by the Director of Accounting Services. It also looks into, and reports on, matters relating to the performance of the Director of Audit's duties and the exercise of his powers under the Audit Ordinance, and on matters relating to value-for-money audits carried out by the Director of Audit.
The Director of Audit submits two reports to the Legislative Council each year. The first, tabled in April, relates to value-for-money audits. The second, tabled in November, relates to the audit of the government's annual statements of account. Following the tabling of the reports, the Public Accounts Committee may invite the controlling officers for certain heads of expenditure to its public hearings to give evidence. The committee's report, based on these hearings, is tabled in the Legislative Council within three months of the submission of the Director of Audit's report to which it relates.
The government's response to the committee's report is contained in the government minute which describes the measures taken to give effect to the committee's recommenda- tions, or reasons why these recommendations cannot be accepted. The government minute is also tabled in the Legislative Council, within three months of the tabling of the Public Accounts Committee's report.
Committee on Members' Interests
The Committee on Members' Interests was established by a resolution of the Legislative Council in 1991. Comprising a chairman and six members, the committee studies the arrangements for the compilation, maintenance and accessibility of the Register of Members' Interests. It also considers matters pertaining to the declaration of interests by council members and matters of ethics in relation to the conduct of members in their capacity as such, and makes recommendations on matters relating to members' interests.
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