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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

2003 No. 1326

GOVERNMENT RESOURCES AND ACCOUNTS

The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2003

  Made 15th May 2003 
  Coming into force 23rd May 2003 

Whereas it appears to the Treasury that each of the bodies specified in the Schedule to this Order exercises functions of a public nature or is entirely or substantially funded from public money;

     And whereas a draft of this Order has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament pursuant to section 25(10) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000[1];

     Now, therefore, the Treasury, having consulted the Comptroller and Auditor general, hereby make the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 25(6) and (7) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000:

Citation and commencement
     1. This Order may be cited as the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2003 and comes into force on 23rd May 2003.

Audit of bodies by the Comptroller and Auditor General
     2. Those accounts of each of the bodies listed in the Schedule to this Order that relate to financial or accounting years ending on or after the date shown opposite the name of the body in the Schedule shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Museum charities and the Community Development Foundation
     3.  - (1) The trustees of each body to which paragraph (2) below applies shall send a copy of the accounts of the body for each financial or accounting year ending on or after the date shown opposite the name of the body in the Schedule to this Order to the Comptroller and Auditor General as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the year to which the accounts relate.

    (2) This paragraph applies to the following bodies:

    (3) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, certify and report on each of the accounts sent to him under paragraph (1) above and shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of each of those accounts together with his report on them.

Development Councils
     4.  - (1) Section 7 of the Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947[2] (reports and accounts of development councils) is amended as follows.

    (2) In subsection (2), after "auditors" insert "or, as the case may be, the Comptroller and Auditor General".

    (3) After subsection (2A)[3] insert - 

    (4) After subsection (3) insert - 

    (5) In subsection (4) for "each such report of a council, or made by the auditors on their" substitute "any report under this section prepared by a council, or made by the auditors on their accounts or by the Comptroller and Auditor General on their statement of".

Home-Grown Cereals Authority
     5.  - (1) Section 21 of the Cereals Marketing Act 1965[4] (report and accounts of the Home-Grown Cereals Authority) is amended as follows.

    (2) In subsection (2) after "each accounting period" insert "ending on or before 30th June 2003".

    (3) In subsection (3) after "the Authority" insert "in respect of the accounting periods ending on or before 30th June 2003".

    (4) After subsection (3) insert - 

Meat and Livestock Commission
     6.  - (1) Section 19 of the Agriculture Act 1967[5] (annual report and accounts of the Meat and Livestock Commission) is amended as follows.

    (2) In subsection (2) after the second occurrence of "financial year" insert "ending on or before 31st March 2003".

    (3) In subsection (4) after "the Commission" insert "for each financial year ending on or before 31st March 2003".

    (4) After subsection (4) insert - 

Sir John Soane's Museum
     7.  - (1) The Appendix to the Charities (Sir John Soane's Museum) Order 1969[6] is amended as follows.

    (2) In clause 26 (accounts and audit of the Museum), after "Foundation" insert "in respect of accounting years ending on or before 25th March 2003".

    (3) After clause 26 insert - 

British Hallmarking Council
     8.  - (1) Paragraph 19 of Schedule 4 to the Hallmarking Act 1973[7] (accounts of the British Hallmarking Council) is amended as follows.

    (2) In sub-paragraph (1) omit the words from "and" to the end.

    (3) After that sub-paragraph insert - 

Alcohol Education and Research Council
     9.  - (1) Section 10 of the Licensing (Alcohol Education and Research) Act 1981[8] (accounts and audit of the Alcohol Education and Research Council, etc.) is amended as follows.

    (2) After subsection (1) insert - 

    (3) After subsection (2)[9] insert - 

Sea Fish Industry Authority
     10.  - (1) The Sea Fisheries Act 1981[10] is amended as follows.

    (2) In section 11 (accounts and reports of the Sea Fish Industry Authority) - 

    (3) In section 16 (administration of schemes by the Sea Fish Industry Authority) - 

English Partnerships (Commission for the New Towns)
     11.  - (1) The New Towns Act 1981[13] is amended as follows.

    (2) After section 67(1) (accounts of the Commission for the New Towns, etc)[14] insert - 

    (3) In section 68 (audit of accounts of the Commission for the New Towns, etc) - 

    (4) In section 70 (annual reports of the Commission for the New Towns, etc) - 

Industrial training boards
     12.  - (1) Section 8 of the Industrial Training Act 1982[16] (accounts of an industrial training board) is amended as follows.

    (2) After subsection (2)[17] insert - 

    (3) At the end of subsection (3)[18], insert "or, as the case may be, by the Comptroller and Auditor General on the statement".

Food from Britain
     13.  - (1) Section 5 of the Agricultural Marketing Act 1983[19] (accounts and annual reports of Food from Britain) is amended as follows.

    (2) In subsection (3) - 

    (3) In subsection (4) after "auditors" insert "appointed under subsection (3)".

    (4) In subsection (5)[20] for "this section" substitute "subsection (3)".

    (5) After subsection (5) insert - 

English Heritage (Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England)
     14.  - (1) Schedule 3 to the National Heritage Act 1983[21] (the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is amended as follows.

    (2) In paragraph 12 (accounts of the Commission) - 

    (3) In paragraph 13 (annual reports of the Commission) - 

Oil and Pipelines Agency
     15.  - (1) Paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 to the Oil and Pipelines Act 1985[23] (accounts and audit of the Oil and Pipelines Agency) is amended as follows.

    (2) In sub-paragraph (4) - 

    (3) In sub-paragraph (6) after "this paragraph" insert "in respect of accounting years ending on or before 31st March 2002".

    (4) After sub-paragraph (6) insert - 

Housing Corporation
     16.  - (1) Section 97 of the Housing Associations Act 1985[24] (accounts and audit of the Housing Corporation) is amended as follows.

    (2) In subsection (2)[25] after "financial year" insert "ending on or before 31st March 2003".

    (3) After subsection (2) insert - 

    (4) In subsection (3) after "audited" insert "under subsection (2) or (2A)".

Football Licensing Authority
     17.  - (1) Schedule 2 to the Football Spectators Act 1989[26] (the Football Licensing Authority) is amended as follows.

    (2) In paragraph 24 (accounts and audit of the Authority) - 

    (3) After paragraph 26 (laying accounts of the Authority before Parliament) insert - 

English Partnerships (the Urban Regeneration Agency)
     18.  - (1) Schedule 18 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993[27] (finances of the Urban Regeneration Agency) is amended as follows.

    (2) In paragraph 9 (accounts of the Agency), after sub-paragraph (4) insert - 

    (3) In paragraph 10 (audit of accounts of the Agency) - 

    (4) In paragraph 12 (annual reports of the Agency) - 

Environment Agency
     19.  - (1) Section 46 of the Environment Act 1995[28] (audit of accounts of the Environment Agency, etc) is amended as follows.

    (2) In subsection (1) after "Agency" insert ", with the exception of those accounts of the Agency that relate to a financial year ending on or after 31st March 2004,".

    (3) After subsection (3) insert - 

Standards Board for England
     20.  - (1) Paragraph 13 of Schedule 4 to the Local Government Act 2000[29] (accounts of the Standards Board for England) is amended as follows.

    (2) In sub-paragraph (2) - 

    (3) After sub-paragraph (4) insert - 


Nick Ainger

Philip Woolas
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury

15th May 2003



SCHEDULE
Article 2

Alcohol Education and Research Council 31st March 2005
British Hallmarking Council 31st December 2003
British Potato Council 30th June 2004
Commission for the New Towns (part of English Partnerships) 31st March 2005
Community Development Foundation 31st March 2004
Construction Industry Training Board 31st December 2003
Engineering Construction Industry Training Board 31st December 2003
Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (known as English Heritage) 31st March 2005
Environment Agency 31st March 2004
Fleet Air Arm Museum 31st March 2003
Food from Britain 31st March 2004
Football Licensing Authority 31st March 2003
Home-Grown Cereals Authority 30th June 2004
Horticultural Development Council 31st March 2004
Housing Corporation 31st March 2004
Meat and Livestock Commission 31st March 2004
Milk Development Council 31st March 2004
Oil and Pipelines Agency 31st March 2003
Royal Air Force Museum 31st March 2003
Royal Marines Museum 31st March 2003
Royal Naval Museum 31st March 2003
Royal Naval Submarine Museum 31st March 2003
Sea Fish Industry Authority 31st March 2006
Sir John Soane's Museum 25th March 2004
Standards Board for England 31st March 2005
Urban Regeneration Agency (part of English Partnerships) 31st March 2005


EXPLANATORY NOTE

(this note does not form part of the Order)


This Order implements part of the Government's policy set out in its response, published on 13 March 2002 (Cm 5456), to Lord Sharman's report on audit and accountability in Central Government. In that response, the Government said that it accepted the report's recommendation that Non-departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) should be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG). This Order makes the C&AG the auditor of all NDPBs (other than those incorporated under the Companies Acts) which are required by or under statute to be audited by auditors appointed either by the Minister or by the body itself. The bodies affected by the Order are listed in the Schedule to the Order. The Order provides that the Comptroller and Auditor General will audit the accounts of those bodies, beginning in each case with the accounts for the financial or accounting year ending on the date shown opposite the name of the body in the Schedule. The dates in the Schedule reflect the Government's policy (which is in accord with a recommendation of Lord Sharman) that the changes in auditor should take place as existing contracts expire.

The Order also requires the Comptroller and Auditor General to lay before Parliament the audited accounts of the bodies listed in the Schedule, together with his report on those accounts, except where statute requires Ministers or the Secretary of State to lay the annual report of the body before Parliament together with the audited accounts. And the Order makes a number of consequential amendments to existing legislation.

Notes:

 [1] 2000 c. 20.back

[2] 1947 c. 40.back

[3] Subsection (2A) was inserted by S.I. 1991/1997, reg. 2, Schedule, paragraph 3.back

[4] 1965 c. 14.back

[5] 1967 c. 22.back

[6] S.I. 1969/468.back

[7] 1973 c. 43.back

[8] 1981 c. 28.back

[9] Subsection (2) was substituted by S.I. 1991/1997, reg. 2, Schedule, paragraph 39.back

[10] 1981 c. 29.back

[11] Subsection (6) was substituted by S.I. 1991/1997, reg.2, Schedule, paragraph 40.back

[12] Subsection (8) was amended by S.I. 1999/1747, article 3, Schedule 23, Part II, paragraph 3(1), (2).back

[13] 1981 c. 64.back

[14] Section 67(1) was amended by the New Towns and Urban Development Corporations Act 1985 (c. 5), section 9(a).back

[15] Subsection (2) was substituted by S.I. 1991/1997, reg. 2, Schedule, paragraph 41.back

[16] 1982 c. 10.back

[17] Subsection (2) was amended by S.I. 1991/1997, reg 2, Schedule, paragraph 44.back

[18] Subsection (3) was amended by the Employment Act 1989 (c. 38), section 22(4), Schedule 4, paragraph 7.back

[19] 1983 c. 3.back

[20] Subsection (5) was substituted by S.I. 1991/1997, reg.2, Schedule, paragraph 48.back

[21] 1983 c. 47.back

[22] Sub-paragraph (6) was amended by S.I. 1991/1997, reg. 2, Schedule, paragraph 49.back

[23] 1985 c. 62.back

[24] 1985 c. 69.back

[25] Subsection (2) was amended by the Government of Wales Act 1998 (c. 38), section 140, Schedule 16, paragraph 49.back

[26] 1989 c. 37.back

[27] 1993 c. 28.back

[28] 1995 c. 25.back

[29] 2000 c. 22.back


ISBN 0 11 046169 X


 
© Crown copyright 2003
Prepared 30 May 2003

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