Recommendation 38

To work quickly, Parliament and the Sponsor Body agreed that parliamentary domestic committees, such as the finance committees for each house who support the Commissions, would not scrutinise and endorse the Programme’s assessment of the Programme costs and the impact of continued presence before this material was shared with the House Commissions.102 The Sponsor Body does not have a statutory obligation to engage these committees.103 The Sponsor Body explained the intention was to share its analysis of the continued presence option with the domestic committees after an initial discussion with the House Commissions.104 The domestic committees do not have a statutory role, but whatever succeeds the Sponsor Body may still need their endorsement to progress work on the Programme and supporting projects.105