§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many times in the last 10 years, and on which dates, his departmental accounting officer has issued a minute in that role; and what was the issue in each case. [22557]
§ Mr. HeseltineWhere a Minister overrules an accounting officer's advice on an issue of propriety or regularity or one of value for money the accounting officer should request a written instruction from the Minister to take the action in question.
The cases where such an instruction has been Issued were set out in the reply given to the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Mr. Rowlands) on 8 March 1994, Official Report, column 211. No new cases have arisen since then.
All such instructions are reported to the Comptroller and Auditor General who, after making whatever investigations he considers appropriate, will report his findings to the Public Accounts Committee.