HC Deb 19 March 1997 vol 292 cc668-9W
Dr. Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his 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. [20932]

Mr. Hague

The information requested is as follows:

  1. (a) the Arts Council of Wales (ACW), the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (CBDC), the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), the Development Board for Rural Wales (DBRW), Housing for Wales (HfW), the Residuary Body for Wales (RBW), the Sports Council for Wales (SCW), the Wales Tourist Board (WTB), the Welsh Language Board (WLB) and the Agricultural Wages Committees are all open to the scrutiny of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration;
  2. (b) the Audit Commissioner is the external auditor of the Residuary Body for Wales;
  3. (c) the Comptroller and the Auditor General is the external auditor of all Welsh executive NDPBs except the RBW, Wales Youth Agency (WYA), HfW, and CBDC, to whose books and papers he nevertheless has access a) under the National Audit Act 1983 for the purpose of carrying out examinations on value for money, and b) by agreement, for the purpose of examining questions of regularity and propriety;
  4. (d) all are encouraged to adopt procedures under the code of access to Government Information;
  5. (e) all identify, publish and report against key performance measures in their annual reports other than the Higher and Further Education Funding Councils for Wales (HFEFCW), who give details in their corporate plan, which is also published.
  6. (f) all are subject to the provisions of the citizens charter.

Dr. Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish(a) annual reports, (b) annual accounts, (c) the minutes of meetings, (d) the agendas of meetings and (e) a register of members' interests; and if this is in each case (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary. [20893]

Mr. Hague

This information requested is as follows.

  1. (a)All—under statute, charter or other controlling documents. The report of work by the Agricultural Wages Committee is included in the annual report of the Agricultural Wages Board;
  2. (b)all except the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and the Agricultural Wages Committee—under statute or charter;
  3. (c)none;
  4. (d)none;
  5. (e)all have adopted or are in the process of adopting a code of practice based on the "Code of Best Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies" published by HM Treasury in June 1994 and further guidance issued by HM Treasury in January 1997. They publish or will then publish or make available such a register for inspection.