HC Deb 18 April 1996 vol 275 c596W
Mr. Byers

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage How many files marked "Not for National Audit Office Eyes" are currently held by her Department. [24854]

Mr. Sproat

[holding answer 17 April 1996]: There are 43 files in my Department out of a total of approximately 170,000 marked "Not to be seen by NAO without reference to the appropriate Head of Division", sometimes abbreviated to "Not for NAO Eyes".

The marking "Not for NAO 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 NAO and Public Accounts Committee are not automatically available to the NAO while they are current.