Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations Honourable Paul Ramsey, Minister	This electronic version is for informational purposes only. The printed version remains the official version.
Report E: IMPROVING BUDGET TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUDGET PROCESS REVIEW PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS

Background

A year ago, the Auditor General made a number of recommendations to improve British Columbia's budgeting and Estimates process.

One of those recommendations was that the government seek expert advice on legislation to reform the governance of the budget and Estimates process. In response, the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations established the Budget Process Review Panel in April 1999, chaired by Doug Enns, FCA. The panel's mandate was to review "input to the budget process, scope of the budget and information provided in the budget plan and actual results."

The panel's September 27, 1999 report (Enns Report) to government and the Legislature made 26 recommendations, ranging from creating new legislative committees to requiring three-year plans from government agencies. A copy of the panel's full report is available at http://www.reviewpanel.gov.bc.ca/index1.html

This report outlines the government's response to the panel's recommendations and changes being made to improve budget transparency and accountability, many of which are contained in the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act introduced with Budget 2000.

General Response

Upon release of the Enns Report, the government announced that it accepted in principle the panel recommendations. The detailed discussion below indicates how and when the recommendations are being implemented.

The Enns Report recommended improvements in five key areas:

• A more transparent process through independent pre-budget consultations; budget day well in advance of the fiscal year end; improved Estimates debate; and reduced reliance on Special Warrants, all of which are being addressed.
• Reliable and credible budget forecasts through full disclosure of material assumptions and policy decisions, including disclosure of any optimism or pessimism in the budget forecasts; the assignment of accountability for completeness of that disclosure to the Secretary to Treasury Board; and continuation of the Economic Forecast Council, all of which are being implemented.
• Improved accountability for results through a formal framework of plans outlining goals and targets and subsequent reports of performance, at both the government and ministry/agency level, which is being put into place.
• Improved accounting through a number of changes, most of which have been accepted and are being implemented. The most significant is the move to the Summary Accounts basis, which includes Crown corporations and agencies for purposes of budgeting and reporting the deficit or surplus. The Public Accounts have included these bodies since 1981. The Estimates will now be on the same basis.

  This recommendation has been accepted except that the government has decided not to include certain public bodies like school districts, universities, colleges and health authorities (the "SUCH" sector) at this time, out of concerns for governance implications. Further review of this issue will be undertaken in co-operation with the affected organizations.

• Better presentation of information through comparability of various documents; consistency of planning and reporting information; revised forecasts in Quarterly reports; and plain language, all of which are being addressed.

In summary, while there have been some departures in specific details from the Enns Report recommendations, in spirit all of the elements of the report are being or have been implemented.

Detailed Response

The following is a detailed response to each of the 26 recommendations.

A More Transparent Process

A transparent process is one that the public can understand and to which the public can contribute. The Enns report indicated that transparency was a key principle adopted by the panel, and government has also made enhanced transparency one of its main objectives.

Transparency will be improved through changes such as implementation of effective, public and all-party pre-budget consultations. However, that is not enough. To fully implement these changes will require the Legislature to undertake fundamental reform. Government is fully prepared to make significant changes as part of a cooperative multi-party effort of the Legislative Assembly.

1. Pre-Budget Consultation Document

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require that a pre-budget consultation document be released by the government by October 31st of each year as the basis for pre-budget consultations, including updated economic and fiscal forecasts and key issues that need to be addressed in the budget. The panel recommended that this be implemented in October 2000, with consideration given to a delayed implementation in the fall of 1999 for the 2000/01 budget.

Government Response:

• The government fully accepts this recommendation.
• The government agrees that broad pre-budget consultation is fundamental to the transparency of budget planning. While the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations has engaged in extensive consultation each year, the government accepts the recommendation for a more public and structured process.
• As recommended, the Honourable Paul Ramsey, Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations released Budget 2000: Choices and Challenges on November 30, 1999 to encourage public discussion. See "The Budget 2000 Consultation Process" Topic Box in this Budget Report for the results of that consultation.
• Also as recommended, the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 2) requires the minister to issue a budget consultation paper containing those elements outlined in the recommendation.

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, a document was produced in November 1999, for the 2000/01 budget, and a consultation paper will now be released by October 31st in future years.

2. Pre-budget Consultation by Select Standing Committee

Panel Recommendation:

A select standing committee of the Legislature should be established with a legislated mandate to undertake budget consultation on the basis of the pre-budget consultation document, with results reported to the minister by December 31st, beginning in the fall of 2000.

Government Response:

• The government agrees that broad pre-budget consultation is fundamental to the transparency of budget planning. While the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations has engaged in extensive consultation each year, the government accepts the recommendation for a more public and structured process.
• For 2000/01, the Budget 2000: Choices and Challenges document provided the basis for the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations' pre-budget consultation.
• As recommended, the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 3) requires the referral of the pre-budget consultation paper to an appropriate select standing committee, which is able to meet whether or not the Legislative Assembly is in session. The committee must publish its report by December 31st.

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, the process will commence in the fall of 2000.

3. Budget Timing

Panel Recommendation:

Government Response:

• The government agrees with the principle of the recommendation, that the annual budget should be introduced with sufficient time prior to the end of the fiscal year for it to be given due consideration.
• To implement this principle, rather than using the specific deadline proposed by the Enns report, the government has decided to link the deadline to the six days required under British Columbia Standing Orders time required for the budget debate, during which the budget will be given considerable scrutiny.
• The panel recommendation suggests exceptions to the deadline to deal with circumstances that would affect the contents of the budget. In the spirit of those exceptions, the government is proposing that the minister may delay the budget if a general election is underway or recently completed, if a new Premier has taken office after February 15th, or if a federal budget has been presented after February 15th that materially changes the fiscal forecast for British Columbia.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 6) sets out these provisions.

Implementation Schedule:

• Due to the fact the Premier was not sworn-in until late February, Budget 2000 was not introduced in time to complete the Budget Debate prior to the fiscal year end, but the Throne Speech and budget dates were announced by the Premier shortly after taking office. The timing of Budget 2000 is consistent with the legislation and therefore the change has now been implemented.

4. Estimates Debate through Sectoral Legislative Committees

Panel Recommendation:

Sectoral legislative committees should be created in accordance with the 1996 recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee, and the sectoral committees should conduct the Estimates Debate and review plans and annual reports of Ministries and public bodies, beginning with Budget 2000.

Government Response:

• The government supports legislative reform and an increased role for committees in the Estimates Debate.
• However, the specifics of legislative reform are an issue for the entire Legislature.
• As announced in the Speech from the Throne, the government will ask the Legislature to develop the details of a reformed Estimates Debate process.

Implementation Schedule:

• To be developed as part of the process of developing the reformed Estimates Debate process.

5. Special Warrant Requirements

Panel Recommendation:

To increase the use of Supplementary Estimates and discourage the use of Special Warrants, legislation should require a public report to be released whenever a Special Warrant is approved. The report should state when the issue arose, what options were considered and why the Special Warrant was chosen. If a Special Warrant request exceeds 2 per cent of total voted appropriations, the report must also include revised fiscal forecasts.

Government Response:

• The government accepts the recommendation and will move to the use of Supplementary Estimates instead of Special Warrants whenever practical.
• In addition, the government will go beyond the panel's recommendation on disclosure related to Special Warrants by requiring revised forecasts to be released whenever Special Warrants are approved, not just when they exceed 2 per cent of total voted appropriations.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act implements the recommendation by setting out the requirement for revised fiscal forecasts in section 11 and by consequentially amending section 24 of the Financial Administration Act to require the disclosure report recommended by the panel.

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, this is being implemented immediately. Special Warrants were required in February due to the recent swearing in of the new Premier but the disclosure being required in the legislation was made. The disclosure was in the form of a report released when the Special Warrants were approved and revised forecasts contained in the Third Quarterly Report (PDF file) released shortly thereafter.

Reliable and Credible Budget Forecasts

Unless budget forecasts are reliable and credible, the budget process will not be effective as a vehicle for setting government direction and policy or as a mechanism for holding government accountable for its performance.

Government accepts the need to put strong measures in place to enhance budget reliability and credibility. As the detailed responses below indicate, government has accepted the panel's advice about continuing the Economic Forecast Council and ensuring full disclosure of assumptions and policy decisions.

6. Economic Forecast Council

Panel Recommendation:

Government Response:

• An annual conference of independent economic experts has been in place and has provided advice since 1997. Last year, the government enacted legislation making the Council a legislative requirement. The minister must report on the Council's advice when the budget is introduced (See Topic Box in Report A), as has been the practice for the past three years. These provisions have been carried over from section 11.2 of the Financial Administration Act to section 4 of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

Implementation Schedule:

• Already in place.

7. & 9. Disclosure of Assumptions

Panel Recommendation:

Government Response:

• The government agrees that disclosure of assumptions and optimism or prudence in the forecasts is critical to transparency and hence to accountability through debate.
• Budget 1999 already disclosed key revenue and expenditure assumptions.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 7) formalises the government's current practice of disclosing all material assumptions and policy decisions underlying the economic and fiscal forecasts for the budget year.
• In addition, the Act requires the minister to include a statement that discloses adjustments from the most likely result (i.e. any factors that have been included reflecting either optimism or prudence) and to include the amount of those adjustments in the Supply Act to ensure it is debated in the Legislature.

Implementation Schedule:

• Fully implemented in Budget 2000.

8. Confirmation of Forecast Assumptions and Adjustments

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require the Secretary to Treasury Board to attest that there has been complete disclosure of the material assumptions underlying the forecasts and adjustments to them.

Government Response:

• The government agrees that transparency requires disclosure of all material assumptions and that a mandatory attestation to that effect by the Secretary to Treasury Board is important to ensuring ongoing disclosure.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 7) requires that budget documents presented to the Legislature include a statement signed by the Secretary to Treasury Board that the material assumption disclosure requirements have been met.

Implementation Schedule:

• These disclosure requirements will be implemented beginning with Budget 2000.

Improved Accountability for Results

The panel made a number of recommendations related to increasing accountability for program results. These recommendations reflect the global trend in government accountability from financial accountability to a broader focus on responsible stewardship over the use of public resources.

The government supports this trend and has taken some initial steps. The Auditor General and government deputy ministers issued a joint plan in this regard in 1995 but, while work has continued since then, not as much progress has been made as had originally been planned.

The government appreciates the panel's recommendations and believes that, with renewed government commitment, the changes being implemented as a result of the panel's recommendations will result in a significant step forward in this important area.

10. Government Strategic Plan and Annual Report

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require that the government publish a high-level, long-term strategic plan with annual updates, prior to or at the same time as the budget, as the basis for accountability for results for the provincial public sector; and publish an annual report of performance against the plan, beginning with Budget 2001.

Government Response:

• Government accepts the recommendation.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 12) requires the government to make public a strategic plan that sets out government priorities, identifies specific objectives and expected results, and a fiscal forecast for the government reporting entity for the upcoming three fiscal years. The minister must make the plan public on or before budget day.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 15) requires the government to publish an annual report, comparing actual results to the strategic plan when the Public Accounts are issued.

Implementation Schedule:

• This recommendation will be implemented beginning with the first strategic plan at the time of Budget 2001.
• The first annual report comparing actual results to the plan will be issued in August 2002.

11. Ministry/Agency Performance Plans and Annual Reports

Panel Recommendation:

Ministries and public bodies in the government reporting entity should be required to publish annual three-year plans that focus on accountability for results and annual reports that indicate the actual results for the year compared to the year's plan, to be phased-in over five years.

Government Response:

• Government accepts the recommendation.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (sections 13 and 16) requires ministries and Crown corporations to publicly issue annual three-year performance plans, that include goals, objectives, performance measures and major capital project plans, and annual reports that compare actual results with the expected results identified in the performance plans.

Implementation Schedule:

• Beginning in 2000/01, all ministries and many government agencies are being required to produce one-year performance plans in accordance with established guidelines.
• Over the next three to five years, the requirements will be made increasingly stringent so that all ministry and government organizations will submit three-year performance plans in compliance with the legislation.

12. Standard Key Performance Indicators

Panel Recommendation:

The government should encourage and participate in interjurisdictional efforts to develop standard key performance indicators for the province as a whole and for specific program areas, and to establish benchmarks for such performance indicators.

Government Response:

• The Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations is committed to best practices and is working with ministry Executive Financial Officers in a benchmarking initiative across government. Benchmarking is the process of comparing an organization's practices and procedures to peer organizations and determining what processes need to be changed to incorporate "best-in-class" solutions. Currently the benchmarking project includes core financial and administrative functions.
• The exploratory nature of this work is not suited to a mandatory legislative requirement, as the Enns Report noted.

Implementation Schedule:

• Project is underway.

13. Summary of Performance Plan Information as Part of Budget Documents

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require that, over a five-year period, the government phase in summary business information (mission, vision, strategic direction, key goals and expected results for the coming year) into the Estimates or budget documents for major programs delivered by ministries and non-commercial Crown corporations.

Government Response:

• The government agrees in principle that this information should be made available.
• However, this kind of information will already be included in the performance plans and annual reports that are being implemented.
• Therefore, government does not intend to include a specific requirement based on this recommendation at this time.

Implementation Schedule:

• Not to be implemented.

14. & 15. Increase Managerial Flexibility and Use Performance Management Techniques

Panel Recommendation:

Government Response:

• Government agrees with the spirit of these recommendations and will give them careful consideration as the benefits of increased accountability for results begin to be realized.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act takes an initial step in this direction by removing the requirement for an Order-in-Council (OIC) for employing more direct government staff in a year than the number presented in the Estimates. However the Act extends the information requirements on staffing levels to all taxpayer-supported Crown corporations.

Implementation Schedule:

• To be brought forward for consideration in 2001.

Improved Accounting

As the panel's report indicates, "Accounting is a complex technical area but it is vital that the financial information that the government provides . . . fairly represent(s) the substance of the Province's financial affairs and that people trust the information. Like budget forecasts, financial information must be reliable and credible to be useful in holding the government accountable."

Government is in full agreement with the need to ensure reported financial information is trusted. In fact, British Columbia has been in the lead among Canadian governments in implementing accounting policy changes, such as moving to a full accrual basis of accounting including capitalization of assets.

As discussed below, all of the panel's recommendations are being implemented, albeit with some adjustments to the details. The one exception is that there are no plans at this time to include school districts, colleges, universities and health authorities (the SUCH sector) in the government reporting entity.

16. Apply Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation require that financial information provided by the government be prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, with any material variance from the accounting profession's written guidance explicitly disclosed. The legislation would continue to require that the government's accounting policy be established by Treasury Board. To be implemented for 2000/01.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation in principle.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (sections 5 and 9) require the Estimates and Public Accounts to be prepared in accordance with government's accounting policies, include a summary of those policies, and disclose any material variance from generally accepted accounting principles for senior governments.
• In addition the Auditor General will continue having a responsibility to comment on the appropriateness of government's accounting policies.
• Section 23 confirms Treasury Board authority to set accounting policy, consistent with the recommendation.

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, this is being implemented in Budget 2000.

17. Reconciliation of Surplus/Deficit to Debt

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require the summary financial statements to include a statement that reconciles the surplus or deficit with the change in debt, beginning with Budget 2000.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation, which was implemented beginning with the 1999/00 Estimates.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 5) requires that the Estimates include a reconciliation of the surplus or deficit to the annual change in taxpayer-supported debt.
• While the legislation only requires this statement in the Estimates, the Public Accounts will include a similar reconciliation, as has been the government's past practice.
• This reconciliation may be found in Budget 2000 on page 6 of the 2000/01 Estimates.

Implementation Schedule:

• The recommended reconciliation was introduced in 1999/00 and continues to be included in Budget 2000.

18. Enhanced Auditor General Role in Accounting Policy

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation require that the annual report of the Auditor General include an assessment of whether financial information provided by the government is prepared in accordance with the most appropriate basis of accounting for the purpose of fair presentation and disclosure of the economic and financial substance of provincial public sector activities.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation as a way of ensuring that the presentation of financial information in British Columbia is as meaningful and accurate as possible.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act makes a consequential amendment to the Auditor General Act to change the annual audit report requirement for the Auditor General to the summary accounts.

Implementation Schedule:

• Implemented through the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

19. Summary Reporting Entity

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require that the reporting and budgeting entity must be the Expanded Summary Entity, which includes the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), Crown corporations and other agencies, and those SUCH sector public bodies that meet the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles criteria for inclusion in the entity. The budgeting entity should be expanded to be the same as the entity currently used in the Public Accounts (i.e. the Summary Entity) for the 2000/01 budget. Beginning with the 2001/02 budget, the budgeting and reporting entities should be expanded together to phase-in inclusion of the SUCH sector, consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, over several years.

Government Response:

• This is one of the most important areas addressed by the panel.
• The government accepts several important principles implicit in this recommendation, including the principle that the Estimates and Public Accounts should cover the same set of public bodies and that both should cover a comprehensive set of public bodies comprising the provincial public sector.
• Government has committed to report on the Summary Accounts basis, and has made progress in this direction. The Public Accounts have been presented on this basis since 1981. Since September 1999 the Financial and Economic Review and Quarterly Reports have also been presented using the Summary Reporting Entity. The Budget Reports have presented the budget on this basis in a summarized version since 1995. For 2000/01, the Estimates, Budget Reports, Quarterly Reports and the Financial and Economic Review will all report on this basis, in accordance with the recommendation.
• However, including school districts, universities, colleges, or health authorities in the reporting entity also requires that they be included in the budget process. Government does not intend to include them in the budget process at this time, since it is not convinced that the benefits of their inclusion would justify the implications for their independent governance structure (see Topic Box later in this Report). This matter needs to be reviewed with the affected organizations.
• It should also be noted that (i) almost all of the debt of the SUCH sector is already included in the summary entity's debt, (ii) the revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities of the SUCH sector are included each year in schedules to the Public Accounts, and (iii) the effect of the inclusion of the SUCH sector in the summary statements would likely be a small improvement to the Summary Entity bottom line.

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, all financial statements will be prepared on a Summary Accounts basis beginning with Budget 2000, however government has no plans to further expand the reporting entity at this time.

20. Accounting Policies, Including Consolidation of Crowns

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require the Estimates and budget information to be prepared in accordance with the province's accounting policies, including policies on consolidation, beginning with Budget 2000.

Government Response:

• The Estimates have been, and will continue to be, consistent with government accounting policy. The government therefore accepts this recommendation which is included in the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 5).

Implementation Schedule:

• Consolidation of Crown corporations and agencies presents a significant challenge as the Estimates are changed to the Summary Accounts basis. This consolidation change is being phased in. For Budget 2000, government will budget and report on CRF revenues and expenses, and separately on the net income of Crown corporations.

21. Change of Focus from the Consolidated Revenue Fund

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should ensure that, beginning in 2000/01, significant fiscal indicators are reported on the basis of the government reporting entity and no longer reported on the CRF basis. However, for comparability in reporting against previous budgets, the CRF indicators may also be used for the next two years.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation as necessary to ensure that the focus of financial reporting is clearly shifted from the CRF basis to the more comprehensive Summary Accounts basis.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 19) specifically prohibits use of the terms "surplus" or "deficit" solely in respect of the CRF.

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, this is being implemented through legislation beginning with Budget 2000.

22. Revenue and Expenditure on both Gross and Net Basis

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should allow specific revenue and expenditure items to be reported net of offsetting costs and income, but the aggregate amounts of revenue and expenditure should be reported on both a gross basis (without netting associated costs or income) and on a net basis, beginning with the Budget 2000.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation as important disclosure of the overall magnitude of the provincial public sector.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 5) implements this recommendation. The Public Accounts will also include a similar schedule although it is not specifically referred to in the Act.

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, this is being implemented with Budget 2000, in Schedule J of the 2000/01 Estimates (PDF file).

Better Presentation of Information

In addition to making the information associated with the budget process more reliable and credible, the panel has made a number of recommendations about the presentation of the information to make it more accessible. That will improve the understanding of what government is doing and why, thereby enhancing transparency and government's accountability for results.

Government has accepted the panel's recommendations in this area, with some minor adjustments in the specific details. For example, although British Columbia has had a plain language policy for public documents for some time, this policy is reaffirmed in this legislation.

23. Comparable and Understandable Reports

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require that ministry and government body plans and annual reports be comparable over time within the same organization and across similar organizations; that Quarterly Reports provide revised fiscal forecasts; and that all budget process documents be in plain language and include summaries.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation as a useful way of improving transparency and accountability.
• The government has had a plain language policy in place for several years for legislative drafting and government publications and it strives to make financial reports comparable where possible.
• Government has issued guidelines for preparation of performance plans for 2000/01, to promote consistent presentation.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 19) implements this recommendation by requiring government to present information in a form that is as precise and as readily understandable as practical. It also makes comparability part of the law governing all documents that the Act requires to be made public.

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, this recommendation is being implemented immediately, beginning with Budget 2000.

24. Legislated Release Dates for Reports

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should set specific dates by which various documents are required to be made public (see Table E1). In addition, there should be a legislated requirement for public bodies to provide information to the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation in principle as an important element of improved accountability.
• The following table shows the release deadlines recommended by the panel and the section of the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act that implements the recommendation.
• Crown corporations and agencies have been supportive of government's steps to implement the Enns recommendations. They have provided extensive information regarding their financial situation and outlook to support presentations of the Quarterly Reports on a Summary Accounts basis, as well as for preparation of Budget 2000.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 20) requires government organizations to provide the information required to fully implement the Act.

TABLE E1

Implementation Schedule:

• As recommended, the deadlines are being put into place immediately.

25. Capital Project Budgeting and Disclosure

Panel Recommendation:

Proposed reforms to capital budgeting should be implemented by legislation in accordance with the principles proposed by the Auditor General, including closer integration with the process of developing operating budgets; and more disclosure of proposed capital projects, including amounts, objectives, business cases and performance targets for individual major projects. Budget documents should provide disclosure about ongoing projects and the amount approved for new projects but need not provide details of new projects not yet announced. Disclosure for those projects should be made when they are announced.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation as an important mechanism for improving transparency and accountability.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (sections 8, 13 and 14) implement the disclosure aspects of this recommendation.
• The recommendation also requires some internal changes to the budget development process that will be addressed but do not require legislation.

Implementation Schedule:

• This recommendation is beginning to be implemented in the current fiscal year and will be fully implemented by 2001/02, as recommended.

26. Annual Implementation Report Card

Panel Recommendation:

Legislation should require the government and the Auditor General to both report annually to the Legislature on the implementation of this report beginning in 2000 and continuing until implementation is complete, and legislation should also require a scheduled independent review of the budget process in eight to ten years.

Government Response:

• The government accepts this recommendation.
• The Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (section 21) implement this recommendation, allowing either party to stop reporting on a particular recommendation when it has been implemented or government has made a firm decision not to implement the recommendation.

Implementation Schedule:

• The first reports will be required by September 30, 2000 as recommended and the independent review must be set up by April 30, 2009 and complete by September 30, 2009, consistent with the panel's recommendation.

Legislation Issues

Panel Recommendation:

Although not a formal recommendation, the Enns Report comments on the need to ensure that the legislation recommended in the report does not have the unintended consequence of generating litigation to block legitimate government policy initiatives on the basis of a perceived defect in process, such as a missed deadline for presentation of the Estimates. The report indicates that it supports the concept of consequences for failure to comply, such as being required to publicly report the reasons for that failure, and legislative provisions that limit legal actions based on defects in the legislated process.

Government Response:

• The government has accepted the panel's advice and the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act (sections 17 and 22) implements these suggestions.

Conclusion

The Final Report of the Budget Process Review Panel has provided government with considerable valuable advice on how to improve the budget process. As indicated, government has implemented or is implementing virtually all of the panel's recommendations, at least in principle. In some cases adjustments have been made to specific parameters, which is to be expected when such a comprehensive and interrelated set of initiatives are implemented. The small number of these adjustments is a credit to the work of the panel.

The work required to fully implement these changes cannot be done overnight. Many of the elements are being fully implemented in Budget 2000 but some of the initiatives, such as those related to improved accountability for results, will take several years and changes to corporate culture as well as to legislation and procedures. One of the most significant changes required is reform of the Legislature, in which the government is inviting the participation of the full Legislative Assembly. As a result, timing of implementation for at least that initiative is not solely in the government's hands. Also, this is a process of continuous improvement that must continue to evolve beyond the specific measures discussed here.

The government is confident that the changes being made now will lead to a significant improvement in transparency and government accountability that will benefit the people of British Columbia.

CONSOLIDATED REVENUE FUND AND THE SUMMARY ACCOUNTS

BUDGET 2000 CONSULTATION PROCESS