§ Mr. George Cunninghamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer which accounts of the Crown Agents are audited by the Exchequer and Audit Department; on what authority such audits take place; and on what dates the Treasury invited the Exchequer and Audit Department to undertake such audits in respect of each account.
§ Mr. Nott,pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 11th December 1973; Vol. 866, c. 119], gave the following information:
The Crown Agents Office Fund Accounts have been audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General since 1869 under Section 33 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 and later Section 3 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921. The current authority is a Treasury Minute of 1st January 1923 issued under the 1921 Act. This authority was extended by the Treasury on 1st February 1971 to include the audit of the Joint Consolidated Fund and the Joint Miscellaneous Fund.