Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many files marked "Not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by the Department; and how many are marked "Not for Public Accounts Committee eyes."
§ Mr. EggarNo central record is kept by my Department of files marked "not for National Audit Office eyes". For each National Audit Office study, a number of divisions in different locations may be involved and each may possess in its registries a file with a number of parts —that is, individual jackets. The information requested is therefore not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The marking "not for National Audit Office eyes" is used in accordance with an agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office, under which documents relating to the handling of relations between Departments and the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee are not automatically available to the National Audit Office while they are current.
There is no marking "not for Public Accounts Committee eyes".