HC Deb 24 March 2004 vol 419 cc868-9W
Mrs. Calton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2004,Official Report, column 714W, on Cheadle Royal Hospital, if he will place in the Library a copy of the reply from the Director of Operations to the hon. Member for Cheadle. [160458]

Fiona Mactaggart

The Director of Operations wrote to the hon. Member on 9 March and a copy is now available in the Library.

Mrs. Calton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2004,Official Report, columns 714–15W, on Cheadle Royal Hospital, when the administrative arrangements for challenge and review of formal decisions of the Charity Commission were implemented. [160511]

Fiona Mactaggart

The Commission introduced administrative arrangements for challenge and review of its decisions on 1 January 2000. Full details, including published staff guidance and details of the decision reviews carried out to date, can be found on the Commission's website (www.charitycommission.gov.uk)

Mrs. Calton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2004,Official Report, columns 714–15W, on Cheadle Royal Hospital, when the Charity Commission reported the disposals of Cheadle Royal Hospital assets to Parliament; when the reports were audited by the National Audit Office; and when the Public Accounts Committee reviewed the audited reports. [160512]

Fiona Mactaggart

I advised the hon. Member of the scrutiny arrangements for the Charity Commission in my answer of 1 March 2004,Official Report, column 715W.

The Commission's statutory annual report on its operations made to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, further to section 1(5) of the Charities Act 1993, is laid by him before Parliament. This details the Commission's activities, operations and performance against its targets for the year. It also contains details of any significant developments in the operating environment during the year as identified at the time of publication. It does not contain details of individual charities and their activities except for a small number of examples that serve to illustrate the wide range of the Commission's work as registrar and regulator of the 187,316 charities on the Central Register of Charities (as at 31 March 2003). The Commission's latest report for the financial year 2002–03 is publicly available on its website (www.charitycommission.gov.uk).

The Commission is also required to produce a separate annual report as part of Resource Accounts, which it prepares and publishes as required by Her Majesty's Treasury. The financial statements in the Commission's Resource Accounts are audited by the National Audit Office who may choose to refer particular aspects to the Public Accounts Committee for further inquiry. The latest Resource Accounts for 2002–03 are publicly available on the Commission's website.