House Speaker Randolph Horton will continue to look for ways to enhance the independence of the offices of the Auditor General, the Ombudsman and the Parliamentary Registrar, despite a sound rejection of his preferred solution in parliament on Wednesday.Mr Horton said while the Premier customarily reads the non-Ministry budget briefs, the offices are independent of Government and should be dealt with as such in parliament.“It doesn’t make sense for the Premier to present the budget for the Auditor General’s office because she holds him accountable,” he said.He continued: “I’m exploring the best means of creating the appropriate independence for those areas.”He explained that other Commonwealth jurisdictions, such as Manitoba, Canada, had adopted the same practice he was proposing.Mr Horton added that he had been “shocked” when his effort to lead discussion on the budgetary estimates for non-Ministry heads was shot down on Wednesday as he felt the initiative had bipartisan agreement.Debate on the budgets for non-Ministry departments should not be led by the Speaker, Opposition Leader Marc Bean insisted yesterday.“It’s the taxpayer that provides the funding to all aspects of Government. That includes the Auditor General, the Ombudsman and the Parliamentary Registrar,” Mr Bean said.“Our opinion is that it should be the Premier, or a Minister without portfolio or, if need be, the Deputy Speaker. But not the Speaker of the House.”Mr Bean said his party was surprised at the Speaker’s initiative and had not been made aware in advance. But he said it was all just a misunderstanding or miscommunication — a view shared by Mr Horton.Mr Horton confirmed that he had met with parliamentarians from both sides of the House and it was agreed that he would read the budget briefs for the non-Ministry heads.“To be quite frank, had it not been agreed or had there been concerns with it, I would never have gone through with it,” said Mr Horton.“It wasn’t communicated as well as it should have been. There was obviously some miscommunication.”Members of the Opposition benches, led by Deputy Leader Derrick Burgess, vehemently opposed the Speaker taking a role in the budget debate.Chairing the debate was Pembroke South East MP Rolfe Commissiong who initially ruled against Mr Burgess’ objections.He was persuaded to reverse his ruling when Shadow Attorney General Kim Wilson referenced a respected guide to parliamentary practice which specified that the Speaker could not take part in debates.In the end a compromise brokered by Public Works Minister Trevor Moniz was reached and Mr Horton agreed to revert to convention.Mr Moniz confirmed that his party had been made aware of the change but he was bemused by Mr Burgess’ objections.“Derrick Burgess has not shown great respect for parliamentary rules and procedures in the past. He constantly calls people ‘Auntie Louise, ‘Uncle Bob’ or ‘cousin’,” Mr Moniz said.“He deliberately mocks the protocol of parliament which is there for a reason — to keep debate on a high plane. He constantly pulls it down, as do others. He’s not the only one.”He added that the whole saga revealed a “dysfunction” in the PLP since losing power on December 17 — with members taking contradictory positions on issues. “It’s a poached egg looking for a piece of toast.”As for his view on the Speaker’s initiative, Mr Moniz said: “It’s not a big issue for me. It’s a procedural thing.”Acting Governor David Arkley said: “The precedents and procedures of Bermuda’s House of Assembly are a matter for that House and it’s Members alone.”