§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by her Department; which of these are audited by the National Audit Office; which firms of private accountants audits each of the others; by what method of tendering contracts to such firms are awarded; and for what duration.
§ Mr. SackvilleI refer the hon. Member to pages 33–37 of "Public Bodies 1991", HMSO, 1991, a copy of which is available in the Library. Since publication, additional non-departmental public bodies have been established as follows:
- Youth Treatment Centre Advisory Group
- Medical Manpower Standing Advisory Committee
- The London Enquiry
- Steering Committee on Pharmacy Postgraduate Education
- Aids Action Group
- National Disability Information Project Steering Group
The Department no longer sponsors the following bodies:
- Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health
- National Development Team for People with Learning Disabilities
Of the Department's nine executive bodies, eight produce auditable accounts of which six are audited by the National Audit Office. The English National Board is audited by the Audit Commission, and the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting is audited by private accountants Lawrence and Co. of Baird house, 15–17 St. Cross street, London EC1N 8UN. Lawrence and Co. was appointed after a tendering exercise undertaken by the body itself and the contract is of open-ended duration, subject to satisfactory performance.