Tracking delivery
How Public Accounts Committees follow up their recommendations
Short answer
- UK reply format
- Treasury Minute, published on GOV.UK then on the committee site 1
- UK progress reports
- Requested twice a year by HM Treasury 3
- Latest UK progress report
- June 2026, published 4 June 2026 3
- Latest UK Treasury Minutes
- September 2026, published 30 September 2026 4
- Australian basis
- Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 5
- Canadian committee
- 10 members, chaired by a member of the official opposition 6
United Kingdom: Treasury Minutes
The Committee of Public Accounts scrutinises value for money from public spending and not government policy 1. It takes evidence from accounting officers, senior civil servants who are usually Permanent Secretaries and are directly accountable to Parliament 1. It usually bases its inquiries on value for money reports or investigations by the National Audit Office 1.
Government departments respond to the committee's reports through a Treasury Minute 1. HM Treasury keeps a collection of all Treasury Minutes published since 2010 2. The September 2026 Treasury Minutes were published on 30 September 2026 as a 36-page PDF 4.
United Kingdom: progress reports
HM Treasury says the committee expects departments and agencies to take its recommendations seriously, and has asked for regular information on how they are implemented 3. The committee will recall accounting officers if it is not satisfied with a department's performance after hearings 3.
The Treasury requests departments twice a year to report progress through a special edition Treasury Minute 3. These progress reports replace the need for departments to report on the committee's recommendations in their annual reports 3. The Treasury Officer of Accounts is responsible for making departments respond fully 3.
Australia: the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
The Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 provides for the appointment of the committee and gives it powers to start, conduct and report on specified inquiries 5. Further duties and powers come from the Auditor-General Act 1997, the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 5.
Section 8(1) of the 1951 Act lists the committee's duties 5. They include examining the Commonwealth's accounts of receipts and spending, and examining all reports of the Auditor-General tabled in each House, including performance audits 5. The committee considers the Audit Office's draft estimates under section 53 of the Auditor-General Act 1997 and the fees set by the Auditor-General 5.
Canada: Standing Committee on Public Accounts
Under the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts has 10 members, five from the Liberal Party, four from the Conservative Party and one from the Bloc Québécois 6. Its chair is a member of the official opposition and its first vice-chair a member of the government party 6.
Like other standing committees, it can ask the government for a response to a report. Standing Order 109 then gives the government 120 days to table it 6.
Comparing the follow-up routes
For other UK select committees, Cabinet Office guidance sets a target of two months for the government response 7.
| Parliament | How the government replies | How progress is checked |
|---|---|---|
| UK House of Commons 1 | Treasury Minute 1 | Twice-yearly progress report Treasury Minute 3 |
| Parliament of Australia 5 | Not set out on the committee's role page, which covers the committee's own reports to both Houses under the 1951 Act 5 | Examination of Auditor-General reports 5 |
| House of Commons of Canada 6 | Government response within 120 days if requested 6 | Committee chaired by the official opposition 6 |
Common questions
What is a Treasury Minute?
The document through which UK government departments respond to Public Accounts Committee reports 1.
How often does the UK report progress on PAC recommendations?
HM Treasury asks departments twice a year for a special edition Treasury Minute on progress 3.
Who chairs Canada's Public Accounts Committee?
A member of the official opposition 6.
What law sets up Australia's public accounts committee?
The Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 5.
Does the UK Public Accounts Committee examine policy?
No. It scrutinises value for money from public spending, not government policy 1.
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Sources
- UK Parliament: Our role, Public Accounts Committee
- GOV.UK, HM Treasury: HM Treasury minutes (last updated 28 August 2026)
- GOV.UK, HM Treasury: Treasury minutes progress report (last updated 4 June 2026)
- GOV.UK, HM Treasury: Treasury Minutes September 2026 (30 September 2026)
- Parliament of Australia: Role of the Committee, Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
- House of Commons of Canada: Chapter 13, Standing Orders
- Cabinet Office: Giving evidence to select committees: guidance for civil servants (October 2014)
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