§ Mr. Tim SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many internal auditors are employed in his Department and at what cost; how many internal audit reports were produced in 1989; how many of these were drawn to the attention of a Minister in his Department; and what internal audit work is subcontracted to private firms and at what cost.
§ Mr. WaddingtonTwenty-one internal auditors, including three support staff, were employed as at 1 October 1989. The annual cost is estimated at £524,000.
In the current financial year 31 reports have been issued. One assignment was partly contracted out to a private firm at a cost of £30,000. One internal audit report was specifically drawn to the attention of a Minister. More generally, internal audit findings and recommendations which are relevant to issues that Ministers are considering are reported to them in the context of submissions on those issues, but information on the number of reports thus drawn to the attention of Ministers is not readily available.