§ Mr. MorganTo ask the President of the Board of Trade which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his 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. Neil Hamilton[holding answer 10 July 1992]: Details of non-departmental public bodies sponsored by my Department, including audit information, are set out in "Public Bodies 1991", a copy of which is in the library of the House.
Audit arrangements for the bodies which are not audited by the National Audit Office are:
Public Body Auditor British Hallmarking Council BDO Binder Hamlyn National Consumer Council Coopers & Lybrand Gas Consumers' Council Coopers & Lybrand English Industrial Estates Corporation Ernst & Young Hearing Aid Council Grant Thornton Policyholders' Protection Board Touche Ross & Co. Appointments to audit are made after a competitive tender except where the size of the audit and the likely fee is small. Reappointments are usually on an annual basis. Performance of the auditors is regularly reviewed and a new competition would be held if the findings indicate that there would merit in again testing the market.