Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many files marked "Not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by the Department; and how many are marked "Not for Public Accounts Committee eyes".
§ Mr. GoodladThe information requested is not readily available. To provide it would require consultations with all overseas posts. This could only be done at disproportionate cost. The marking "Not for NAO eyes" is used in accordance with an agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office, under which documents relating to the handling of relations between Departments and the NAO and PAC are not automatically available to the NAO while they are current. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's internal audit unit regularly checks to ensure that the marking is not abused. There is no marking "Not for PAC eyes".