§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many files marked "Not for National Audit Office Eyes" are currently held by her Department. [24851]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe ex-Department for Education has 104 files marked "Not for NAO Eyes" out of a total of over 700,000. The several million records created by the former department of Employment are handled at a number of locations across the country and although some will be similarly marked, the number could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The marking is used in accordance with the agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office under which documents relating to the handling of relations between departments and the NAO and Public Accounts Committee are not automatically available to the NAO while they remain current.