HC Deb 22 October 1976 vol 917 cc604-6W
Mr. Kilfedder

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what are the public bodies in Northern Ireland where the Comptroller and Auditor General has (a) a statutory right to audit the accounts, (b) a right to audit conferred by agreement and (c) no right to audit; and in the cases of (a) and (b) what is the latest financial year for which audited accounts have been published;

(2) if he is satisfied, in a situation where the entire funding of education and library boards, health and social services boards and district councils is from central Government, about the existing relationship between the local government auditors and the Comptroller and Auditor General; and what action is proposed to improve public accountability for expenditure incurred by these bodies;

(3) what are the arrangements for the auditing of the accounts of the education and library boards, the health and social services boards, district councils and of public bodies where the Comptroller and Auditor General has no right to audit.

Mr. Dunn

The Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland has a statutory duty to examine the accounts of the Northern Ireland Government Departments and the following bodies:

  • Northern Ireland Council for Nurses and Midwives (Government Grant Expenditure only).
  • NI Schools Examination Council.
  • NI GCE Examinations Board.
  • NI CSE Examinations Board.
  • NI Agricultural Trust.
  • NI Development Agency.
  • NI Tourist Board.
  • NI Housing Executive.
  • Sports Council for Northern Ireland.
  • Fire Authority for Northern Ireland.
  • Enterprise Ulster.
  • Arts Council for Northern Ireland.
  • Labour Relations Agency.
  • Fair Employment Agency.
  • Equal Opportunities Commission.

The accounts of the area education and library boards, the area health and personal social services boards, the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for the Health and Social Services and the Northern Ireland Staffs' Council for the Health and Social Services are audited by auditors appointed by the relevant Northern Ireland Departments. In each of these cases the Department concerned prepares and submits summarised accounts which the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland has a statutory duty to examine.

There are no public bodies whose accounts are examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland by agreement. It is not possible, without disproportionate expense to list those public bodies whose accounts the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland has no duty to examine, or to detail the audit arrangements for such bodies.

Accounts of district councils are audited by local government auditors.

The Northern Ireland Development Agency, the Labour Relations Agency, the Fair Employment Agency and the Equal Opportunities Commission are newly established bodies, which have not yet prepared their first accounts. In the case of all other public bodies where the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland has a statutory duty to examine accounts, the latest financial year, for which accounts examined by him have been published, is 1974–75.

The accounts of the Northern Ireland Police Authority are subject to audit by the United Kingdom Comptroller and Auditor General.

Arrangements to bring the accounts of certain public bodies in Northern Ireland, not at present laid before Parliament, within the purview of the Public Accounts Committee, are being considered.