§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many outside accountancy firms are employed by his Department; whether such employment is subject to any guidelines; and whether he takes steps before employing an accountancy firm to discover whether that firm has been censured by Department of Trade and Industry inspectors in their inquiries under the Companies Act;
(2) how many outside accountancy firms are employed by his Department; whether such employment is subject to any guidelines; and whether he takes steps before employing an accountancy firm to discover whether that firm has been censured by Department of Trade and Industry inspectors in their inquiries under the Companies Act.
§ Mr. NeubertTwo outside acountancy firms are currently employed by the Ministry of Defence on accountancy type tasks. Their employment accords fully with current guidelines. The firms themselves were subject to a full and rigorous scrutiny before being contracted by the Department to carry out the tasks in question.