§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action has been taken by the Department of Employment and Learning to recover the estimated loss identified by the Auditor General's Report NIA 41/03, HC 673, as having accumulated through irregular expenditure on the Individual Learning Accounts Scheme. [183063]
§ Mr. GardinerThe NIAO report on Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) indicated potential irregular payments to providers in Northern Ireland (NI). The Department for Employment and Learning has obtained legal advice on the scale and nature of the potential recoveries as part of a wider validation exercise; has liaised with the Department for Education and Skills and the police, in England, on the progress of their investigations; has undertaken extensive checks with Companies Registry NI and Companies House Great Britain (GB) to establish the present status of ILA providers; and obtained credit rating reports on the providers highlighted by the validation work. The Department is undertaking audits of providers to determine the actual potential for recovery and a 1141W number of providers which operate also in GB is being pursued on DEL's behalf by the relevant police authorities.