To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the responsibilities of the Accounting Officer with responsibility for the Post Office.
Answered on
6 July 2020
The responsibilities of Principal Accounting Officers (PAOs) are set out in Managing Public Money. For Post Office Ltd. (POL) the PAO is the BEIS Permanent Secretary.
Specifically, the PAO is accountable to Parliament in respect of POL and for ensuring that arrangements are in place for shareholder oversight of POL. The PAO is also responsible for advising the responsible Minister, including in areas such as:
(i) an appropriate framework of objectives and targets for POL in the light of BEIS’s
wider strategic aims and priorities;
(ii) an appropriate allocation of BEIS’ budget for POL in the light of BEIS’s overall
expenditure priorities; and
(iii) how well POL is achieving its strategic objectives and if it is delivering Value for