Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

The hon. Gentleman is right in what he said about expenses. We virtually dealt with that by having the CAG look at the expenses proposals and come to see me about them. However, the problem of governance was not just about expenses—it was about the staff of the organisation, who, as the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee indicated, were dependent on the good will of the CAG for their advancement, salary increases and so on. There was a much wider and more dangerous governance problem that could damage the organisation.