HC Deb 20 February 1951 vol 484 c169W
Sir W. Smithers

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Treasury has withdrawn the requirement that the trading accounts of the British Phosphate Commission should be examined and certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General; why other auditors are to be employed; and if he will give their names.

Mr. Gaitskell

The volume of trading accounts and balance sheets is normally confined to trading services conducted by Government Departments. The inclusion of the British Phosphate Commission, an independent body in which other Commonwealth Governments are partners, was anomalous. The Commission's accounts will, however, be published as a Command Paper, and they will still be open to examination by the Comptroller and Auditor General; they have, of course, always been audited by outside firms of accountants. The auditors for the year ended 30th June, 1950, were Messrs. Kent, Brierley and Fisher, Melbourne (Australia).