Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (Hansard, 25 March 1986)

§ Mr. Kenneth Baker

[pursuant to his reply, 27 February 1986, c. 678]: As I indicated in my answer on 27 February, I was seriously concerned about the recent reports of weaknesses in the marketing division of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, discovered by their internal audit team. The chairman and chief executive of the commission shared my concern.

My Department's responsibility is to ensure that the conditions attached to the commission's grant-in-aid conform to the terms of the Vote and that the controls applied by the commission conform with the requirements 425W both of propriety and of good financial management. It was the commission's own financial monitoring which identified the weaknesses in marketing division spending procedures. Part of the Department's control process is that the commission should have an effective internal audit unit. It was this internal audit unit which provided a detailed report and recommendations which have been or are in the process of being implemented. The unit has conducted 12 audits in the commission; it found significant weaknesses only in the marketing division.

Accordingly, the commission's chief executive was able to send my Department an immediate interim report on the issues raised. My noble Friend the Minister of State has since discussed this with the commission's chairman. I am satisfied that the commission has taken steps to improve its procedures in relation to its marketing division, is strengthening those procedures further and is continuing to monitor the situation closely. My noble Friend has asked for a further report on the corrective action being taken. He is also asking the external auditors of the commission to work closely with them on the implications. My Department's own internal audit unit will itself follow up the effectiveness of the action being taken by the commission.