The Audit Committee is a Standing Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly established in accordance with Section 66 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and Assembly Standing Order No. 58. The Committee has five members and a quorum of two.

The Committee:

Exercises the functions mentioned in Section 66(1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Committee therefore agrees, in place of the Department of Finance (DoF), the estimates of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) and lays them before the Assembly;
Is responsible for tabling a motion for a resolution of the Assembly relating to the salary payable under Article 4(1) of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 to the holder of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG);
Exercises the functions mentioned in sub-paragraphs 18(2) and (4) of Schedule 1 to the Public Services Ombudsman Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 in respect of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO); and
May exercise the power in Section 44(1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

The Chairperson of the Audit Committee also has a lead role in the recruitment of the C&AG.

In 2016, the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (the Commission) and the DoF, in considering the arrangements for setting the Commission’s budget, sought to reflect the constitutional independence of the Assembly from the Executive. This led to the development of a draft methodology/protocol for setting the Commission’s budget. The methodology sets out an approach that is broadly akin to the approach adopted for the NIAO and NIPSO, whereby the Audit Committee provides scrutiny and challenge to the Commission’s expenditure plans and reports accordingly, in recognition of the independence of the Commission. The Committee fulfils this role in place of the DoF.

Membership

The Committee has five members, including a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, and a quorum of two members. The membership of the Committee is as follows:

Mr Alan Chambers MLA (Chairperson)
Ms Diane Forsythe MLA (Deputy Chairperson)[1]
Mr John Blair MLA
Mr Nick Mathison MLA
Ms Emma Sheerin MLA[2][3]

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms used in this Report

AG: Auditor General

Commission: Northern Ireland Assembly Commission

Committee: Audit Committee

C&AG: Comptroller and Auditor General (Northern Ireland)

DoF: Department of Finance

MLAs: Member of Legislative Assembly

NIAO: Northern Ireland Audit Office

NMPBs: Non-Ministerial public bodies

PAC: Public Accounts Committee

ToR: Terms of Reference

Executive Summary

Assembly Standing Order 58(2) provides that the Audit Committee is responsible for tabling motions for a resolution of the Assembly relating to the salary payable under Article 4(1) of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 to the holder of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).

The salary payable had not been reviewed since 22 March 2022 at which time the then Committee recommended by way of tabling the following Motion:

‘That, in accordance with Article 4(1) of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, this Assembly determines that the salary payable to the holder of the office of Comptroller and Auditor General shall be as follows: in each year from 1 April 2017 until 31 March 2021, £150,041 (excluding employer costs); and from 1 April 2021, until such time as the Assembly makes a further determination, £154,527 (excluding employer costs).’

The uplift brought the level of salary into line with Judicial Group 5 salary at the time; however in the plenary debate, the Committee Chairperson acknowledged that there was a ‘question about whether Judicial Group 5 is the most appropriate group against which the …salary should be benchmarked’^{^[4]} The former Audit Committee recommended that this Committee consider reviewing the options open to it for determining the salary in the future.

The current Audit Committee, having now carried out the review set out in this report, is recommending that the salary of the C&AG for the period 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026 is uplifted by 4% (in line with the pay award being made available to Assembly Commission staff), bringing the salary to £160,708. It is further recommending this salary level is applied retrospectively from the beginning of the financial year 2023/24, which was the first full financial year during which the current post holder was in office.

The Audit Committee has identified the need for further work to establish a suitable mechanism for setting the salary in the future and has recommended that a feasibility study be carried out in this regard, the timescales for which should reflect the timescales for the appointment of the next C&AG.

The Audit Committee has reviewed the appropriateness of its role in making recommendations to the Assembly in relation to the C&AG salary. It considered several options in this regard, including recommending the transfer of this responsibility to the Assembly Commission. The Committee is not however recommending any change to the current arrangements, save for the introduction of new processes and procedures to help ensure a consistent approach to the regular review of the salary.

The Audit Committee asks the Assembly to note, while not part of this review, that it may be asked to consider proposals for legislative change in the future, on a number of issues relating to the appointment and tenure of the C&AG.

Recommendations

Having considered a wide range of research and other evidence, as well as having sought legal advice, the Audit Committee makes the following recommendations:

Recommendation 1 - that the Audit Committee continues in its role of tabling motions for a resolution of the Assembly relating to the salary payable under Article 4(1) of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 to the holder of the office of C&AG.

Recommendation 2 - that the Audit Committee formalises processes in relation to the ongoing review of the salary.

Recommendation 3 - that the salary of the C&AG for the period 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026 is uplifted by 4% (in line with the pay award being made available to Assembly Commission staff), bringing the salary to £160,708.

Recommendation 4 - that this salary level is applied retrospectively from the beginning of the financial year 2023/24, which was the first full financial year during which the current post holder was in office.

Recommendation 5 - that the Audit Committee arranges for a feasibility study to be carried out on the completion of a full/in-depth job evaluation exercise, to establish if such an exercise would provide better information (than is currently available to the Committee) on an appropriate level of salary. Timescales for the feasibility study and exercise should reflect the timescales for the appointment of the next C&AG.

Recommendation 6 - that the Assembly notes, while not part of this review, that it may be asked to consider proposals for legislative change in the future, on a number of issues relating to the appointment and tenure of the C&AG.

Introduction

1. Assembly Standing Order 58(2) provides that the Audit Committee (the Committee) is responsible for tabling motions for a resolution of the Assembly relating to the salary payable under Article 4(1) of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 to the holder of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).

2. In carrying out this role, the Committee is aware that it should undertake a reasonable and proportionate evidence gathering exercise to inform any recommendation to the Assembly on the salary payable to the holder of the office of C&AG. Under existing legislation, the Assembly cannot reduce the salary[5], nor increase it beyond the maximum payable in the Northern Ireland Civil Service[6].

3. Historically, salaries of C&AGs and Auditor Generals (AGs) in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have been linked to the salary of a judge in the Judicial Salary Group 5. England, Scotland and Wales have however, and for some time now, moved away from this approach, following the ‘Review of the National Audit Office’s Corporate Governance’, published in January 2008 by John Tiner, which recommended that the link with Judicial salaries should be broken in England.

4. Previous Committees noted the benefits of the link in terms of fairness and transparency, reducing the potential for the Assembly to be seen to be determining the salary in response to political or other factors and reinforcing the independence of the C&AG from government[7].

5. Previous Audit Committees have also, however, considered evidence on the appropriateness of the historical link to judicial salaries and the Chairperson of a former Audit Committee stated, during the debate on the C&AG salary on 22 March 2022:

“ … the Committee believes that the overall arrangements for determining the C&AG's salary, which would include benchmarking, should be reviewed in order to ensure that they reflect best practice elsewhere.”[8]

6. Having considered the background to the issue during its second and third meetings in the Mandate (9 April 2024 and 5 June 2024), the Committee commissioned a research paper which it considered at its second meeting of the 2024/25 session (13 November 2024).

7. On 5 March 2025, having considered background information, research and legal advice, the Committee agreed to conduct a full review of the salary arrangements for the C&AG and wrote to the C&AG to advise her of its decision. It also agreed to seek further research and evidence on the salary arrangements in other jurisdictions.

8. The Committee agreed its Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Review at its next available meeting, which was on 28 May 2025 (Appendix 1) and provided these to the NIAO for information. The scope of the ToR included: a review of the Audit Committee’s role in relation to the management of the salary; how to establish an appropriate level of salary; the arrangements for reviewing and uplifting the salary (as appropriate); and whether any backdating of salary was required or appropriate. While the Committee had previously agreed to consider whether an interim salary arrangement for the incumbent C&AG would be appropriate, it agreed that to do so may pre-empt the outcome of its wider review.

9. At its meeting on 28 May 2025, the Committee also agreed to ask the Assembly Commission if it would be content to arrange for a role evaluation and salary benchmarking exercise on its behalf.

10. The Committee considered a review of evidence and issues paper at its following meeting on 25 June 2025 and agreed a number of options to be developed for its consideration at an early meeting in the 2025/26 session. The Committee welcomed the Assembly Commission’s agreement to arrange the benchmarking work on its behalf and noted that this would be carried out over the summer recess period by a contractor, to ensure the independence of the exercise.

11. The Committee considered papers and briefing by the external contractor on benchmarking work, a full options paper and further legal advice at its meetings on 24 September, 22 October and 19 November 2025, and made final decisions on its recommendations to the Assembly on 10 December 2025.

12. The Committee considered its draft report of the review and draft motion to the Assembly, including legal advice, at its meeting on 28 January 2026, and subsequently agreed its final report and Motion on 18 February 2026.

Committee Consideration

13. Having considered a wide range of research and other evidence under each of the ToR for the review, as well as having sought legal advice, the Committee agreed a number of broad options under each ToR, to be developed for its consideration. The Committee’s consideration included the associated advantages, disadvantages and legislative implications of each option.

Background to current salary of the C&AG for Northern Ireland - £154,527

14. The Committee (under ToR (i) of the review) noted that the salary of the C&AG for Northern Ireland was currently £154,527.

15. This salary level was agreed by the Assembly on 22 March 2022 and had not been reviewed since that date. The salary level had been recommended by the former Audit Committee by way of tabling the following Motion:

16. The uplift brought the level of salary into line with Judicial Group 5 salary at the time; however in the plenary debate, the Committee Chairperson acknowledged that there was a ‘question about whether Judicial Group 5 is the most appropriate group against which the …salary should be benchmarked’[9] The former Audit Committee recommended that this Committee consider reviewing the options open to it for determining the salary in the future.

Arrangements for managing the salary for the post of C&AG in the future

17. The Committee agreed that ToR (ii) of the review should consider what arrangements should be put in place for managing the salary for the office of C&AG in the future. While there is overlap with other sections of the ToR, the Committee’s focus under ToR (ii) was the appropriateness of the Audit Committee’s role in setting the salary, and whether there was potential to recommend alternative, improved arrangements going forward.

18. The Committee’s consideration of this ToR was set within the following important context:

a. Motions on the C&AG salary had not been tabled consistently in the Assembly in the past. Reasons included (but were not limited to) suspensions of the Assembly and the C&AG salary having crept ahead of Judicial Salary Group 5 for a period.

b. Skills and experience of parliamentary committees differ to those of corporate bodies in setting salaries, and the arrangements for setting salaries payable to office holders differ across jurisdictions.

c. The need to ensure the independence of the C&AG and have careful regard to any conflict of interest associated with the options being considered.

d. While the Committee manages the salary, the Assembly Commission has a role in managing the appointments process for the office of C&AG. This includes tabling motions that the Assembly nominates the individual proposed by the Commission, as the C&AG for Northern Ireland. The Chairperson of the Audit Committee does however play a lead role in the recruitment process of the C&AG.

19. The options considered by the Committee in relation to the ongoing management of the salary included:

a. Do Nothing.

b. Recommend that a different Assembly Committee manages the C&AG salary.

c. Propose that the Assembly Commission manages the C&AG salary.

d. Retain existing arrangements but with process improvements.

20. After consideration of a wide range of evidence and research, and having considered legal advice, the Committee agreed that it would be appropriate to recommend option d above.

21. Under this option, the Audit Committee would continue to table motions on the C&AG salary, but this would be supported by the development of appropriate procedures and processes for the ongoing and regular review of the salary.

22. This approach would not require procedural or legislative change. This is in contrast with moving the responsibility to the Assembly Commission, which the Committee understands would require a resolution of the Assembly; amendments to the Audit Order (Northern Ireland) 1987 (including the creation of secondary legislation making powers) and an amendment to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, to safeguard the independence of the C&AG.

23. The Committee noted in its consideration of evidence that there is precedent for corporate bodies managing the salaries of officers of parliament (this is the case in relation to the AG for Scotland[10] and the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman) and that there are benefits to this approach, given their relevant skills and experience. However, this needed to be balanced with the significant legislative change that would be required to safeguard the independence of the C&AG in Northern Ireland.

24. On balance, the Committee considered that maintaining the existing arrangements, to include the introduction of formalised processes, may help to ensure a more consistent approach to the tabling of motions in the Assembly going forward, while safeguarding the independence of the C&AG, without the need for legislative change.

25. The Committee was aware that it continuing to make salary recommendations to the Assembly could mean that there would be a continued risk of political context impacting on decisions to review the salary. The Committee noted, however, that identifying a suitable salary setting mechanism and review arrangements, had the potential to mitigate this risk.

26. The Committee had also considered whether there was merit in recommending that a different Assembly Committee manage the C&AG salary (for example the Public Accounts Committee, which is the case in England[11], or the Committee for Finance, which is the case in Wales)[12]; however, there was limited evidence to justify recommending this option.

27. It also considered whether there was merit in seeking to remove the requirement for the Assembly to approve the level of salary of the C&AG in plenary, reducing workload for the Assembly. However, this would require significant legislative change, which the Committee considered would be even more burdensome on Assembly time, and, in any case, risked being unsupported.

28. Therefore, under ToR (ii), the Committee recommends the following in relation to the arrangements for managing the salary for the office of C&AG in the future:

Recommendation 2 - that the Audit Committee formalises processes in relation to the ongoing review of the salary.

Establishing the appropriate salary for the office of C&AG including a mechanism for and frequency of uplift

29. The Committee agreed that under ToR (iii) – (v) of the review, it would consider what the appropriate level of the salary should be now, and how it should be determined in the future. This meant:

a. establishing what the level of salary should be to appropriately reflect the scale and complexity of the responsibilities of the office of C&AG in the context of Northern Ireland; and

b. identifying a suitable mechanism to link the salary to now as well as appropriate arrangements for reviewing and uplifting the salary in the future, to ensure transparency, fairness and consistency of approach.

30. The Committee initially considered the following options:

a. Do Nothing.

b. Link the C&AG salary with Judicial Salary Group 5.

c. Align the C&AG salary with C&AGs / AGs in other jurisdictions (e.g. average of Scotland and Wales).

d. Align the C&AG salary with an applicable senior civil service salary grade in Northern Ireland.

e. Set the salary at a level based on the recommendations of an independent role evaluation and salary benchmarking exercise.

Linking the salary with Judicial Salary Group 5

31. The Committee noted that, historically, salaries of C&AGs and AGs in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have been linked to the salary of a judge in Judicial Salary Group 5. England, Scotland and Wales have however, and for some time now, moved away from this approach, following the ‘Review of the National Audit Office’s Corporate Governance’, published in January 2008 by John Tiner, which recommended that the link with Judicial salaries should be broken.

32. Previous Audit Committees considered evidence on the appropriateness of the historical link to judicial salaries but did not recommend any new linkage.

Previous Committees also noted the benefits of the link in terms of fairness and transparency, reducing the potential for the Assembly to be seen to be determining the salary in response to political or other factors, and reinforcing the independence of the C&AG from government .

33. The Chairperson of the former Audit Committee stated during the debate when the salary was last uplifted in March 2022 that:

“…the Audit Committee noted that the link to judicial salaries in other jurisdictions has long since been broken, so there is a question about whether judicial group 5 is the most appropriate peer group against which the C&AG's salary should be benchmarked.

On a wider note, the Committee believes that the overall arrangements for determining the C&AG's salary, which would include benchmarking, should be reviewed in order to ensure that they reflect best practice elsewhere.”[13]

34. On balance and having considered that there was no legal precedent for it to do so, the Committee agreed not to recommend linking the C&AG salary with Judicial Salary Group 5. It also agreed that it would be important to identify a fair and transparent mechanism for determining salary going forward.

Aligning the C&AG salary with C&AGs / AGs in other jurisdictions (e.g. average of Scotland and Wales)

35. The Committee considered the merits of aligning the C&AG salary with C&AGs/ AGs in other jurisdictions, for example taking an average of the salaries in Scotland and Wales. This was because C&AG is a specialised post and aligning it with peers in other jurisdictions had the potential to best reflect the responsibilities of the role. The Committee noted, as an example, that the average of the positions in other devolved legislatures (Scotland and Wales) was £174,000.[14]

36. The Committee was, however, aware that this simple approach may not sufficiently take account of geographical variations (in the local labour market, public finances and economy) or any variation in the responsibilities between the C&AG and the AGs in Wales and Scotland.

Aligning the C&AG salary with senior civil service salaries in Northern Ireland

37. The Committee considered the merits of aligning the C&AG salary with senior civil service salaries in Northern Ireland, for example the highest available salary to Permanent Secretaries would be £163,267.

38. The Committee noted that this approach would offer an existing mechanism for straightforward linkage, would not lead to a situation where the salary of the Head of the Civil Service was exceeded, and would reflect the Northern Ireland context.

39. As part of its consideration, the Committee noted where (on or above) C&AG/AG salaries sat on corresponding Permanent Secretary scales in other jurisdictions.

40. In the end, while the Committee acknowledged there was some evidence and logic upon which to base a recommendation to align the C&AG salary with a defined point on or above the Permanent Secretary salary scale salary in Northern Ireland, it was concerned that the picture differed across jurisdictions, and there was no contextual information available to clarify these variations. The Committee was therefore concerned that making any recommendations using this approach would be somewhat arbitrary and would not take the specific roles and responsibilities of the C&AG in Northern Ireland sufficiently into account.

Setting the salary at a level based on the recommendations of an independent role evaluation and salary benchmarking exercise

41. The Committee considered setting the salary at a level based on the recommendations of an independent role evaluation and salary benchmarking exercise may be an appropriate way forward. This was confirmed by the Assembly Commission, which suggested that such an exercise would represent best practice.

42. The Committee agreed to ask the Assembly Commission to arrange for such an exercise to be undertaken professionally and independently, on its behalf.

43. The exercise (which primarily focused on benchmarking against C&AG/AGs in other jurisdictions using size metrics) was helpful; however, the Committee considered that it did not provide sufficient information upon which it could base its recommendations to the Assembly. The Committee was of the view, having discussed the outcome of the exercise with the contractor, that, even if it requested that the contractor develop the exercise further, it was unlikely to provide the information required, given the complexity of the role and contextual issues involved.

44. The Committee discussed the possibility that a full job evaluation exercise might provide further information upon which to make its recommendations. It noted however that this would still have limitations, in that it may show relative difference in the size of one role versus another but may be unlikely to reflect a number of contextual issues.

Establishing a way forward

45. The Committee concluded that none of the options it considered during the review had allowed it to establish what the level of salary should be to appropriately reflect the scale and complexity of the responsibilities of the office of C&AG in the context of Northern Ireland. Consequently, identifying a suitable mechanism to link the salary to now as well as appropriate arrangements for reviewing and uplifting the salary in the future, to ensure transparency, fairness and consistency of approach, was problematic.

46. The Committee considered that more work needed to be done to establish what the appropriate level of salary should be. A full job evaluation exercise may be helpful in this regard. However, it would take a significant amount of time, and the Committee was aware that such an exercise would still have its limitations.

47. In the meantime, the Committee was very conscious that, while the Assembly was not legally required to uplift the salary provided to the current holder of the office of C&AG, the salary had not been uplifted since 2022. An uplifted salary level, backdated for a period, to make at least some allowance for inflation since the incumbent C&AG was appointed, therefore, seemed fair and appropriate to the Committee.

48. The Committee was aware, however, that it would be important not to set the salary at a level higher than that which might be indicated through any future job evaluation or other benchmarking exercise. This is because, under the relevant legislation[15], the Assembly cannot reduce the salary at a later date.

49. The Committee considered that applying a percentage increase (aligned to the pay award for Assembly Commission Staff) to the current financial year and applying this level of salary retrospectively to the start of the current post holder’s first full financial year in office, would achieve these aims.

50. The Committee therefore recommends the following:

Recommendation 5- that the Audit Committee arranges for a feasibility study to be carried out on the completion of a full/in-depth job evaluation exercise, to establish if such an exercise would provide better information (than is currently available to the Committee) on an appropriate level of salary. Timescales for the feasibility study and exercise should reflect the timescales of the appointment of the next C&AG.

Recommendations on the appropriate mechanism for and frequency of uplift

51. The Committee did not make recommendations under this section of its ToR for the Review, as the appropriate mechanism and frequency of ongoing uplift may be dependent on the outworkings of Recommendation 5 (above).

Consideration of backdating of pay

52. Under Recommendation 4 (above) the Committee has proposed that the recommended salary level is applied retrospectively from the beginning of the financial year 2023/24, which was the current post-holder’s first full financial year in office.

Other issues considered by the Committee

53. While not relevant to the ToR of this review, the Committee remained aware of a number of existing recommendations relating to the appointment and tenure of the C&AG, which would require legislative change i.e.:

a. Recommendations from the previous Audit Committee[16]:

i. The tenure of the next C&AG (Northern Ireland) is a non-renewable term of 10 years with the current compulsory retirement age of 65 removed.

ii. Former C&AGs must consult a nominee of the Northern Ireland Assembly before taking up any post, and that he/she is prohibited, for a period of two years after leaving office, from holding a position with any organisation or person whose accounts fall to be examined by the C&AG (Northern Ireland).

iii. The appointment of the C&AG (Northern Ireland) as Accounting Officer becomes a responsibility of the Assembly Audit Committee to bring it into line with its peers.

b. Suggestions made by the Assembly Commission in relation to other potential legislative deficits i.e. :

i. The lack of provision for an Acting C&AG.

ii. A potential need for clarification of the responsibility for recruitment arrangements and setting the terms and conditions of appointment.

53. Therefore, the Committee makes a final recommendation as follows:

Recommendation 6 – that the Assembly notes, while not part of this review, that it may be asked to consider proposals for legislative change in the future, on a number of issues relating to the appointment and tenure of the C&AG.

Links to Appendices

Appendix 1: Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference

Appendix 2: Minutes of Proceedings

View Minutes of Proceedings of Committee meetings related to the report

Appendix 3: Benchmarking exercise report

View written submissions received in relation to the report

Appendix 4: Research Papers

View Research Papers produced by the Assembly’s Research and Information Service (RaISe) in relation to the report

Appendix 5: Correspondence relating to the report

View other documents in relation to the report

You may re-use this publication (not including images or logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Northern Ireland Assembly Licence.

Find out more about the Open Northern Ireland Assembly Licence.

This Report can be made available in a range of formats including large print, Braille etc. For more information please contact:

Audit Committee Clerk, Ashleigh Mitford

Northern Ireland Assembly

Parliament Buildings

Ballymiscaw

Stormont

Belfast BT4 3XX

Telephone: 028 90521843

Email: committee.audit@niassembly.gov.uk

[1] Mr Keith Buchanan left the Committee on 5 April 2024. Ms Diane Forsythe replaced Mr Buchanan as Deputy Chairperson.

[2] Ms Ciara Ferguson left the Committee on 10 February 2025. Ms Jemma Dolan replaced Ms Ferguson.

[3] Ms Jemma Dolan left the Committee on 24 November 2025. Ms Emma Sheerin replaced Ms Dolan.

[4] Hansard 22 March 2022

[5] The Northern Ireland Act 1998, s65(6)

[6] The Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, Article 4(1)

[7] Hansard, 22 March 2022

[8] Hansard 22 March 2022

[9] Hansard 22 March 2022

[10] Correspondence to the Committee from the Scottish Parliament April 2025 – appendix 5

[11] Together with the Prime Minister

[12] Correspondence to the Committee from the Houses of Parliament and Welsh Senedd March 2025 – appendix 5.

[13] Hansard 22 March 2022

[14] Correspondence from Scottish Parliament April 2025, Candidate Information Booklet for AG Wales October 2025 – appendix 5.

[15] The Northern Ireland Act 1998 s65(6)

[16]Audit Committee - Review of the Governance and Accountability Arrangements for the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman

Audit Committee - Review of the salary arrangements for the Comptroller & Auditor General

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