§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what investigations have been carried out into unverified prepayments by GCHQ in respect of procurement of projects and services since the Intelligence and Security Committee's investigation; what the nature of the accounting misapplications and unverified monies was; and if he will make a statement. [121598]
§ Mr. StrawGCHQ has worked closely with the National Audit Office to establish the cause of past problems. There was no question of money going missing.
The past problems have now been resolved and regular reconciliations put in place to ensure GCHQ's prepayment balances are properly recorded and can be reconciled to other organisations' records.
§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to ensure that GCHQ will be able to produce resource accounts that reflect a true and fair record of expenditure. [121600]
§ Mr. StrawThe main areas of weakness identified by the National Audit Office in GCHQ's accounts have related to asset accounting. GCHQ is taking appropriate measures to address these issues, closely consulting HM Treasury and the National Audit Office.
§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to establish that equipment missing from the GCHQ Fixed Asset Register did not contain classified material. [121601]
§ Mr. StrawAnalysis of the accounts has produced no evidence of any financial loss or security problems relating to classified material arising out of the discrepancies in the Register.