Dimension: 1.8.2 In-year and ex-post oversight
This dimension concerns the provisions and processes by which parliament exercises in-year and ex-post oversight of the budget.
Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. ’s role does not end once it has approved the budget. Beyond this point, it is important for parliament to monitor budget execution, including whether the funds have been spent on the purposes for which they were approved. Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. can carry out this oversight in a number of ways:
Conducting periodic in-year review of actual government spending, based on monthly and/or quarterly reports on budget execution
Requiring agencies funded by the budget to report to parliament on the details and outcomes of their budget expenditure in a way that is accessible to parliament
Using its committee system to examine the spending of the agencies that fall within each committee’s area of responsibility
Including, in its rules of procedure, provisions that allow for budgetary outcomes to be subject to discussion and debate in parliament, including opportunities for the opposition and/or minority parties
Ex-post oversight allows parliament to scrutinize of the outcomes of the previous budget, which can then inform its consideration of the current budget.
See also Dimension 1.8.3: Public Public All the members of a community in general, regardless of their citizenship status. Accounts Committee Committee See: Parliamentary committee Parliamentary committee A body comprised of MPs who are appointed, on either a temporary or a permanent basis, to debate or closely examine matters closely related to specific policies, issues or circumstances, in line with the committee’s scope of work. The theme, structure and nature of parliamentary committees are established by a chamber’s rules of procedure. Depending on the these rules, the composition of a committee may reflect that of the whole parliament or include diverse party representation. In some parliaments, the term “commission” is used instead of, or interchangeably with, “committee”. . , Dimension 1.8.4: Expert support and Dimension 1.8.5: Supreme audit institution, which cover important parts of the ex-post oversight framework in detail.
Aspiring goal
Assess your parliament against this dimension
Assessment criteria
No 1: Role of parliament
Parliament’s budget committee, PAC or equivalent bodies conduct periodic in-year review of the execution of the budget as a whole, or of certain parts of the budget, either at their own initiative, or based on the government’s monthly and/or quarterly reports on budget execution.
No 2: Reporting to parliament
Agencies funded by the budget are required to account fully to parliament for their budgetary expenditure and outcomes through regular and comprehensive reporting.
No 3: Scrutiny by parliamentary committees
Parliamentary committees systematically inquire into the budgetary expenditure and outcomes of executive agencies for which they have responsibility, and have access to the information that is needed for effective ex-post oversight, subject to legally defined limitations.
No 4: Debate of budgetary outcomes
Budgetary outcomes are subject to discussion and debate in parliament, including opportunities for the opposition and minority parties.
No 5: Practice
In practice, budget scrutiny and the debate of budgetary outcomes are regular and meaningful, with wide participation by MPs. Information on budget scrutiny is made publicly available.
How to complete this assessment
This dimension is assessed against several criteria, each of which should be evaluated separately. For each criterion, select one of the six descriptive grades (Non-existent, Rudimentary, Basic, Good, Very good and Excellent) that best reflects the situation in your parliament, and provide details of the evidence on which this assessment is based.
The evidence for assessment of this dimension could include the following:
- Provisions of the legal framework and/or parliament’s rules of procedure requiring agencies funded by the budget to account fully to parliament for their budgetary expenditure and outcomes through regular and comprehensive reporting
- Provisions of the legal framework and/or parliament’s rules of procedure relating to committee scrutiny of the budgetary outcomes of executive agencies
- Committee Committee See: Parliamentary committee Parliamentary committee A body comprised of MPs who are appointed, on either a temporary or a permanent basis, to debate or closely examine matters closely related to specific policies, issues or circumstances, in line with the committee’s scope of work. The theme, structure and nature of parliamentary committees are established by a chamber’s rules of procedure. Depending on the these rules, the composition of a committee may reflect that of the whole parliament or include diverse party representation. In some parliaments, the term “commission” is used instead of, or interchangeably with, “committee”. . reports on budgetary scrutiny of agencies
- Provisions of parliament’s rules of procedure providing for opportunities to debate budgetary outcomes
- Statistics on parliamentary debates on budgetary outcomes
Where relevant, provide additional comments or examples that support the assessment.
Sources and further reading
- David Beetham, Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. and democracy in the twenty-first century: A guide to good practice (2006).
- Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Recommended Benchmarks for Democratic Legislators, revised edition (2018).
- National Democratic Institute (NDI), Towards the Development of International Standards for Democratic Legislatures (2007).
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), OECD Best Practices for Budget Budget A plan typically prepared by the executive and placed before parliament each year (depending on national statute) showing what money the government expects to receive (revenue) and how the government proposes to spend it (expenditure). Transparency (2002).
- OECD, Recommendation of the Council on Budgetary Governance (2015).
- OECD, Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. ’s role in budgeting (2019).
Get help with this assessment
The assessment of indicators involves diagnosing and considering strengths and weaknesses, i.e. the things parliament is doing well, and the things it could do better or more effectively, taking into account established good practices that are described in the indicators.
Read the assessment guidance to find out what to consider when conducting an assessment against the Indicators. Find out how to prepare, how to set the objectives of the assessment, how to organize the process, and more. Contact the project partners for expert advice.
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