§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage which non-departmental public bodies within the responsibility of his Department are subject to scrutiny by(a) the ombudsmen, (b) the National Audit Office, (c) the Audit Commission and (d) other monitoring officers; which are covered by citizens charters; in which performance indicators apply; and in which members are liable to surcharge. [23960]
§ Mr. Dorrell[holding answer 15 May 1995]: My Department's executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies are listed in "Public Bodies 1994". On 4 April 1995, the Advisory Council on Libraries took over from the Library and Information Services Council (England) the statutory responsibilities established under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964. The 152W functions and responsibilities of each body are specified in its founding legislation or charter. The information requested is as follows:
- (a) Bodies subject to the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration are listed in schedule 2 of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 as amended. This includes:
- Arts Council of England
- British Film Institute
- British Library Board
- Crafts Council
- English Tourist Board
- Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (English Heritage)
- Museums and Galleries Commission
- Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund
- Register of Public Lending Right
- Sports Council
- (b) All of my Department's executive NDPBs are subject to scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General with the exception of the National Film development fund. The funding of most of the Department's advisory NDPBs forms part of DNH's expenditure and DNH's accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The accounts of the Theatres Trust are audited by a commercial firm.
- (c) None.
- (d) My Department monitors the performance of its NDPBs as part of the corporate planning process, through which targets and performance indicators are set. The principles of the citizens charter apply to all the Department's NDPBs. There are no surcharging arrangements with regard to members of the Department's NDPBs.