11Employment of staff and consultants—Parliamentary Budget Office

11 Employment of staff and consultants—Parliamentary Budget Office

11 Employment of staff and consultants—Parliamentary Budget Office

(1) Parliamentary staff may be employed by the Presiding Officers to assist the Parliamentary Budget Officer to exercise his or her functions. Those staff comprise the Parliamentary Budget Office.

(2) The members of staff of the Parliamentary Budget Office are under the joint control of the Presiding Officers.

(3) However, directions to the members of that staff in relation to the exercise of the functions of the Parliamentary Budget Officer may only be given by—

(a) the Parliamentary Budget Officer, or

(b) another member of staff of the Parliamentary Budget Office authorised to do so by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

(4) The Parliamentary Budget Officer may engage consultants to assist the Officer in the exercise of his or her functions.

(5) Any such consultant is taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be a member of staff of the Parliamentary Budget Office.