§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what monitoring is being undertaken by his Department's representatives of the financial performance of the Islington borough council; and what assessment he has made of the accounting procedures at the council. [127395]
§ Mr. RaynsfordAs part of the Government's engagement policy with poorly performing authorities a Government monitoring board has been set up to advise Ministers of Islington's progress against its agreed recovery plan, including targets and milestones on financial performance.
However, the assessment of the council's performance is a matter for the auditor, not the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Although Islington received an unqualified audit opinion on the accounts for 2001–02, a number of improvement areas have been identified in the recovery plan, and the district auditor has drawn up an audit plan for 2003–04, which reflects the areas requiring improvement and the priorities in the recovery plan.