§ Mr. DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when, and for what year, the last annual report of the Foyle Fisheries Commission was published; when the outstanding annual reports will be published; when the outstanding annual reports of the Loughs Agency relating to fisheries will be published; and what has been the reason for the delay in producing these reports. [121422]
§ Mr. PearsonIt was normal practice for the Foyle Fisheries Commission to publish the Annual Report of its operations together with its financial statements for the period in question. The last Annual report with Statement of Accounts for the Foyle Fisheries Commission was for the year 1996.
818WThe Report and Statement of Accounts for the Foyle Fisheries Commission for the periods 1997–99 will be published in July this year.
During 1997, the Department of Finance and Personnel (NI) introduced new standards for the format and information to be presented in the accounts for Non Departmental Public Bodies, which caused significant technical difficulties for the Foyle Fisheries Commission in its completion of Financial Statements. This in turn resulted in significant delays during audit of the accounts for this period. The accounts and report for this period have since been finalised and are now ready for publication.
The operational report of the Loughs Agency for 2000 was provided and noted by the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) on 22 June, as required by the North South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (NI) Order, 1999. This report will be published later this year when the financial statements for that period have been certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland and the Irish Comptroller and Auditor General.
The reports for 2001 and 2002 will be published upon the completion of the audit of the financial statements for those periods. These financial statements are currently with the Northern Ireland Audit Office who anticipate their completion by this autumn. The Annual Report and Accounts will be submitted to the NSMC and published following completion of the audit.