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Lords Amendment: No. 20, in page 54, line 33, at end insert:
(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1) above, the Controller of Audit may make a report to the Commission on any matters arising out of or in connection with the accounts of a local authority in order that those matters may be considered by the local authority concerned or brought to the attention of the public, and shall send a copy of any report so made to any local authority which is named in that report.
§ Mr. YoungerI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
Clause 102 deals with reports by the Controller of Audit to the Commission for Local Authority Accounts. Formal reports will be made only on issues of importance which cannot be satisfactorily disposed of through consultation with the officials of the local authority concerned. These reports will be of two kinds, general reports and special reports.
It is envisaged that the special reports will, like the present interim reports, draw attention at the earliest possible opportunity to cases where, in the opinion of the controller of audit, any item of account is contrary to law or 889 there has been any other irregularity of the kinds specified. General reports, on the other hand, would be made on the completed audits of each year and would draw attention to matters of financial administration or accounting practice on which comment by the Commission might be helpful to local authorities or in the interest of ratepayers.
I ask the House to accept this amendment, which, broadly speaking, carries on the present practice into the new procedure for local government accounts.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ 12.45 a.m.
§ Mr. MacArthurOn a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am sure that the whole House will be grateful to my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary for explaining so courteously and clearly the purpose of the Lords amendments. May I, however, without discourtesy to him, simply point out that these amendments were presented and debated in another place? I wonder whether it might be the wish of the House that some of these amendments might perhaps be taken a little more formally and that we should concentrate our discussion on those amendments on which there might be disagreement between the two sides of the House. Having said that, I repeat that I am grateful for the help my hon. Friend is giving us.