Who will be answerable to the Assembly: Will or Gavin? Will a DE Minister be able to say “X is an operational matter which is the responsibility of ESA”?
The Permanent Secretary and the Chief Executive will both be answerable to the Assembly for their respective responsibilities. The Assembly’s Education Committee could require either to give evidence (and, indeed, any other DE or ESA official). In addition, as Accounting Officers, the Permanent Secretary and the Chief Executive could be asked to give evidence to the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee. It is too early to say how Assembly questions on operational matters will be handled. This will depend on the views of the Minister, the Speaker, and the Assembly. During the last period of devolution, some Ministers tended not to use the formulation suggested in the question, and answered questions on detailed operational matters.
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