101.This section enables the Treasury to alter, subject to consultation with the C&AG and Parliamentary approval, the timetable for the production, audit and laying of resource accounts and accounts covered by section 7 of the Act.
102.The current statutory timetable gives the Treasury until 31 January in the year after that to which the accounts relate to lay accounts before Parliament. For resource accounts the Treasury intends to operate a tighter administrative timetable that will require accounts to be laid before Parliament by the end of October in the year after that to which the accounts relate. For accounts prepared under the predecessor of section 7 of this Act it is already common practice to lay accounts prior to the summer recess in the year after that to which the accounts relate. Therefore, it is possible that in the future the Treasury may wish to shorten the statutory timetable in order to encourage quicker completion of accounts and this section will enable this to be done.
Commentary on Sections Section 22: Power to alter timetable