§ Lord Roberts of Conwyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the audit arrangements in Northern Ireland corresponding to those proposed for Wales in the Public Audit (Wales) Bill. [HL216]
§ Baroness AmosThe main legislative basis for audit arrangements in Northern Ireland are set out in the provisions of the Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 and the Audit and Accountability (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.
While the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland and his staff exercise broadly similar functions to those proposed for the Auditor General for Wales in the Public Audit (Wales) Bill, one major distinction between the two is the proposal that the Auditor General for Wales will appoint auditors to audit the accounts of local government bodies in Wales. In Northern Ireland the audit of the 26 district councils, and two other bodies, is undertaken by the Northern Ireland Audit Office staff who have been designated as local government auditors by the Department of the Environment.