Parliamentary Budget Office

What is a Parliamentary Budget Office(PBO)?

A PBO is an independent and impartial body linked directly to Parliament
A PBO is comprised of independent and specialised staff, such as Budget analysts, economists, public finance experts
It provides technical and objective analysis of Budgets and public finance to the House and its committees
Its core functions include Budget approval, scrutiny of its implementation
The PBO must be non-partisan, independent and mandated to serve all parliamentarians
Its output, and the methods by which those outputs are prepared must be transparent, accessible and understandable

Why PBO is needed?

Some experts have argued that Parliament does not require a functioning PBO
But this argument is flawed because Parliament is a Budget-approving body and its members must be well-informed for a legitimate approving process
PBO is an instrument for addressing bias towards spending and deficits
It can generate quality public debate on Budget policy and public finance, enabling parliamentarians to engage meaningfully in the Budget process

Functioning PBOs in other countries

The functioning PBOs are in countries such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, Austria, South Korea, Italy, and Mexico
There are PBOs established in subnational legislatures, such as California, Ontario, Scotland, and New South Wales
Also, New York City has a well-functioning Independent Budget Office (IBO)

Core functions of PBOs

The majority of PBOs have four core functions:

The core functions of the PBO should be codified in law.

The way forward

Parliamentary scrutiny of public finance is an important aspect of governmental accountability
There is a legitimate democratic need in this country to strengthen the capacity of Parliament and its members
Parliamentarians have a role in establishing the PBO
As representatives of the people, Parliamentarians can help improve Budget policies by providing inputs on public needs and priorities

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