The law that sets out the Commissioner’s role says that the Commissioner or a member of their staff has to be responsible for:

• signing their accounts
• making sure their finances are regular and correct
• making sure resources are used economically, efficiently and effectively.

The Commissioner acts in the role of accountable officer, and in this role they are answerable to the Scottish Parliament.

This means that – while the Commissioner is independent – the law does say they should spend the money they get from the public in a reasonable way, and there are systems in place to make sure this happens in practice.