§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the arrangements for auditing expenditure by the Manpower Services Commission.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe Manpower Services Commission is responsible for its own internal audit, although the Department is represented on its internal audit committee. The internal audit committee has a regional structure and is headed by a qualified accountant well experienced in audit work.
The regional teams, each consisting of six auditors under the control of a senior auditor (senior executive officer), have an audit programme for 1983–84 which covers all functions and programmes operated by MSC within its Regions.
The actual amount of audit coverage given to a particular element of MSC operation depends on the amount of public expenditure involved; MSC offices which are responsible for expenditure under the community programme, youth opportunities programme and the youth training scheme, and the individual schemes themselves will be audited most frequently.
In addition, the Exchequer and Audit Department has its own auditors attached to MSC, and they have the right to undertake any audit examination of MSC expenditure.
§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements have been made to audit expenditure by the Manpower Services Commission on education under the technical and vocational education initiative.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI am advised by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) that discussions are still taking place with 14 provisionally selected local education authorities who wish to provide pilot projects under the technical and vocational education initiative. The pilot schemes will begin in September 1983 and will last five years.
MSC also advise me that it is intended to include in the contract with the LEAs right of access for MSC internal audit to the accounts and supporting documentation of these schemes. In addition, this right of access will be available to the Exchequer and Audit Department.
The head of MSC internal audit is currently considering the frequency with which the pilot schemes should be audited.
§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether internal or external audits have revealed any misappropriation of public money in schemes operated by the Manpower Services Commission in 1981–82 and 1982–83.
220W
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe Manpower Services Commission's internal auditors found eight cases amounting to £31,000 in 1981–82 and four cases amounting to £66,000 in 1982–83 in which the misappropriation of public funds in schemes operated by the commission was either proved or is still under investigation.
I am advised by the commission that other auditors, particularly those employed by local authorities, have discovered cases of misappropriation. However, as these cases do not necessarily involve MSC funds information about them is not readily available.
§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many internal auditors are employed by his Department or by the Manpower Services Commission to audit expenditure on schemes organised by the Manpower Services Commission.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe Manpower Services Commission employed 48 staff on internal audit at 20 April 1983. Seven more auditors have been recruited and will take up post on 3 May. The Manpower Services Commission is actively seeking a further eight auditors from within and outside the Civil Service to bring its audit staff up to full complement. The complement was increased in 1982 to take account of the increasing activities and budget of MSC programmes, particularly those concerned with young people and the long term unemployed.
No members of my own Department's internal audit staff are engaged on the audit of MSC activities.
§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the estimated expenditure by the Manpower Services Commission on education in each local education authority receiving resources under the technical and vocational education initiative;
(2) what is the estimated cost to each of the local authorities involved of courses to be run under the technical and vocational education initiative in 1983–84.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI regret that the information requested is not available at this stage. The Manpower Services Commission is currently having detailed discussions about costs with the 14 local education authorities whose proposals were selected for support under the initiative.