HC Deb 21 February 1996 vol 272 cc176-7W
Dr. Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department which are subject to(a) investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, (b) scrutiny by the Audit Commission, (c) scrutiny by the National Audit Office, (d) statutory provisions for open government, (e) performance indicators and (f) provisions under the citizens charter. [16011]

Mr. Sproat

The information is as follows:

  1. (a) Bodies subject to the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration are listed in schedule 2 of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967, as amended. This includes:
    • Arts Council of England
    • British Film Institute
    • British Library Board
    • Crafts Council
    • English Tourist Board
    • English Heritage
    • Museums and Galleries Commission
    • Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund
    • Register of the Public Lending Right
    • Sports Council.
  2. (b) None.
  3. (c) All of my Department's executive NDPBs are subject to scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General with the exception of the National Film Development Fund.
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  4. (d) None. But all bodies falling within the jurisdiction of the PCA are subject to the Code of Practice on Open Government. Lord Nolan's report on Standards in Public Life recommended that all executive NDPBs should develop their own codes of openness.
  5. (e) My Department monitors the performance of its NDPBs as part of the Corporate Planning process, through which targets and performance indicators are set.
  6. (f) The principles of the Citizen's Charter apply to all the Department's NDPBs.

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