To ask the Minister of Finance, pursuant to AQW 7946/22-27, whether she will include assessing the cost of division in the statutory remit of the Fiscal Council.

It is not my intention to include a specific requirement to assess the cost of division within the statutory remit of the Fiscal Council. Rather I will be seeking the Executive’s agreement to introduce legislation that broadly aligns with the Council’s current Terms of Reference, which is to assess and report on the current and future state of our public finances.

In line with the OECD principles for Independent Fiscal Institutions, and similarly to other such organisations, it will then be for the Council to determine its own work programme within the bounds of this broad mandate.