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The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2017 in England

Draft. This instrument was laid in draft and may differ from the one made. Look for the made version under its title.

Draft 2017, ISBN 9780111159927

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise statutory instruments, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

This Draft Statutory Instrument supersedes the draft of the same title which was laid before Parliament and published on 13th March 2017 (ISBN 978-0-11-115622-3). It is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of that Draft Statutory Instrument.

Draft Order laid before Parliament under section 25(10)(c) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, for approval by resolution of each House of Parliament.

Government Resources And Accounts

Made ***

Coming into force in accordance with article 1

The Treasury make the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 25(6) and (7) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000f1.

In accordance with section 25(7)(a) of that Act it appears to the Treasury that each body in relation to which provision is made in articles 2 to 4 of this Order exercises functions of a public nature or is entirely or substantially funded from public money.

In accordance with section 25(10)(b) of that Act the Treasury have consulted the Comptroller and Auditor General.

A draft of this Order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament in accordance with section 25(10)(c) of that Act.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

2000 c.20. Section 25 was amended by section 19 of the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 (c.4).

Contents

  1. 1Citation and commencement
  2. 2Ebbsfleet development corporation
  3. 3The Housing Ombudsman
  4. 4Audit of non-profit-making companies
  5. 5Amendments to legislation
  6. Signature
  7. Schedule 1: Amendments to legislation
  8. Part 1: Amendments to primary legislation
  9. 1Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947
  10. 2Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980
  11. 3Housing Act 1996
  12. 4Offender Management Act 2007
  13. Part 2: Amendments to secondary legislation
  14. 5The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2003
  15. 6The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2005
  16. 7The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2008
  17. 8The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Non-profit-making Companies) Order 2009
  18. 9The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2012
  19. Schedule 2Bodies no longer subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General
  20. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2017 and comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made.

2Ebbsfleet development corporation

The accounts of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporationf1 shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General in relation to the financial years ending on and after 31st March 2018.

3The Housing Ombudsman

(1)

The accounts of the Housing Ombudsmanf1 shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General in relation to the financial years ending on and after 31st March 2018.

(2)

As soon as reasonably practicable after the end of a financial year to which paragraph (1) applies, the Housing Ombudsman must send the accounts for that year to the Comptroller and Auditor General.

(3)

The Comptroller and Auditor General must—

(a)

examine, certify and report on any accounts sent by the Housing Ombudsman under paragraph (2), and

(b)

send the certified accounts and the report to the Ombudsman and the Secretary of State.

(4)

The Secretary of State must lay any accounts received under paragraph (3)(b), together with the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on those accounts, before each House of Parliament.

(5)

The Housing Ombudsman scheme is amended as follows—

(a)

in paragraph 51—

(i)

omit “and the annually audited accounts”, and

(ii)

for “them” substitute “the report”;

(b)

in paragraph 69, omit the words from “which will be audited” to the end; and

(c)

omit paragraph 70.

(6)

In paragraph (5), “the Housing Ombudsman scheme” means the Housing Ombudsman Service Scheme which originally came into effect on 1st April 2013 after having been approved by the Secretary of State under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1996, a copy of which has been deposited at the principal office of the Housing Ombudsmanf2 and published on the Housing Ombudsman’s websitef3.

4Audit of non-profit-making companies

In the Schedule to the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Non-profit-making Companies) Order 2009f1, insert the following entries at the appropriate places—

Company nameDateCompany number
BPDTS Limited1 April 201710344843
College of Policing1 April 201708235199
English Sports Development Trust Limited1 April 201704290188
Oil and Gas Authority1 April 201709666504
Phone Paid Services Authority Limited1 April 201702398515
Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services Limited1 April 201709679225

5Amendments to legislation

Schedule 1 (amendments to legislation) amends primary and secondary legislation for the following purposes—

(a)

to give full effect to articles 2 and 3 of this Order, and

(b)

to repeal and revoke all legislation which requires the accounts of the bodies listed in Schedule 2 to this Order to be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Signature

Name

Name

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

Date

1Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947

In section 7 of the Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947 (reports and accounts of development councils)f1—

(a)

in subsection (2), omit “or, as the case may be, the Comptroller and Auditor General”,

(b)

omit subsections (2B) and (3A) to (3C), and

(c)

in subsection (4), for “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” substitute “each such report of a council, or made by the auditors on their”.

2Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980

In Schedule 31 to the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 (urban development corporations: finance etc.)f1—

(a)

omit paragraph 10A,

(b)

before paragraph 11 insert—

“10B.
(1)

The Ebbsfleet Development Corporation shall send a copy of its accounts and statement of accounts for each financial year ending on or after 31st March 2018 to the Comptroller and Auditor General as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of that year.

(2)

The Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, certify and report on the accounts and statement received under sub-paragraph (1).”,

(c)

in paragraph 11(1), for “10A” substitute “10B”,

(d)

in paragraph 12, for “10A(3)” (in both places it occurs) substitute “10B(2)”, and

(e)

in paragraph 13(3)(b), for “10A(3)” substitute “10B(2)”.

3Housing Act 1996

In paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1996 (matters for which housing ombudsman scheme must provide)f1—

(a)

in paragraph 16, for “The” (in the first place it occurs) substitute “In the case of a scheme relating to Wales, the”, and

(b)

after paragraph 16, insert—

“16A.

In the case of a scheme relating to England, the keeping of accounts.”.

4Offender Management Act 2007

In paragraph 13 of Schedule 1 to the Offender Management Act 2007 (probation trusts: accounts and records)f1 , for paragraphs (2) to (2B)f2 substitute—

“(2)

The Comptroller and Auditor General may examine any accounts of a probation trust, any records relating to the accounts and any auditor’s report on them.”.

5The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2003

In the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2003f1—

(a)

omit articles 4 (development councils), 9 (alcohol education and research council) and 11 (the commission for the new towns), and

(b)

in the Schedule, omit the following entries—

Alcohol Education and Research Council31st March 2005
British Potato Council30th June 2004
Commission for the New Towns (part of English Partnerships)31st March 2005
Home-Grown Cereals Authority30th June 2004
Horticultural Development Council31st March 2004
Housing Corporation31st March 2004
Meat and Livestock Commission31st March 2004
Milk Development Council31st March 2004
Standards Board for England31st March 2005
Urban Regeneration Agency (part of English Partnerships)31st March 2005

6The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2005

In the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2005f1, omit article 2 (development corporations).

7The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2008

In the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2008f1, omit article 3 (independent living fund (2006)).

8The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Non-profit-making Companies) Order 2009

In the Schedule to the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Non-profit-making Companies) Order 2009f1, omit the following entries—

Company nameDateCompany number
British Educational Communications and Technology Agency1 April 200802090588
Capacity Builders (UK) Limited1 April 200805708912
Caversham Lakes Trust Limited1 April 200804290188
Children’s Workforce Development Council1 April 200805409076
The Commission for the Compact1 April 200805932855
Independent Housing Ombudsman Limited1 April 200903290221
Investors in People UK1 April 200802860079
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council1 April 200803888251
The National College for School Leadership Limited1 April 200804014904
Northwest Business Link1 April 200806060925
SITPRO Limited1 April 200904188890
Working Ventures UK1 April 200805770846
The Yorkshire and Humber Sustainable Futures Company Limited1 April 200805383346

9The Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2012

In the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Public Bodies) Order 2012f1, omit—

(a)

article 2(b) (audit of bodies by the Comptroller and Auditor General),

(b)

article 4 (probation trusts), and

(c)

the Schedule (probation trusts whose accounts are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General).

Schedule 2Bodies no longer subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General

  • Alcohol Education and Research Council

  • Avon and Somerset Probation Trust

  • Bedfordshire Probation Trust

  • British Educational Communications and Technology Agency

  • British Potato Council

  • Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Probation Trust

  • Capacity Builders (UK) Limited

  • Caversham Lakes Trust Limited

  • Cheshire Probation Trust

  • Children’s Workforce Development Council

  • Commission for the Compact

  • Cumbria Probation Trust

  • Derbyshire Probation Trust

  • Devon and Cornwall Probation Trust

  • Dorset Probation Trust

  • Durham Tees Valley Probation Trust

  • English Partnerships (Commission for New Towns)

  • English Partnerships (Urban Regeneration Agency)

  • Essex Probation

  • Gloucestershire Probation Trust

  • Greater Manchester Probation Trust

  • Hampshire Probation Trust

  • Hertfordshire Probation Trust

  • Home-Grown Cereals Authority

  • Horticultural Development Council

  • Housing Corporation

  • Humberside Probation Trust

  • Independent Housing Ombudsman Limited

  • Independent Living Fund (2006)

  • Investors In People UK

  • Kent Probation

  • Lancashire Probation Trust

  • Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust

  • Lincolnshire Probation Trust

  • London Probation Trust

  • London Thames Gateway Development Corporation

  • Meat and Livestock Commission

  • Merseyside Probation Trust

  • Milk Development Council

  • Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

  • National College for School Leadership Limited

  • Norfolk and Suffolk Probation Trust

  • Northamptonshire Probation Trust

  • Northwest Business Link

  • Northumbria Probation Trust

  • Nottinghamshire Probation Trust

  • SITPRO Limited

  • South Yorkshire Probation Trust

  • Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust

  • Standards Board for England

  • Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust

  • Thames Valley Probation Trust

  • Thurrock Development Corporation

  • Warwickshire Probation Trust

  • West Mercia Probation Trust

  • West Northamptonshire Development Corporation

  • West Yorkshire Probation Trust

  • Wiltshire Probation Trust

  • Working Ventures UK

  • York and North Yorkshire Probation Trust

  • Yorkshire and Humber Sustainable Futures Company Limited

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

The effect of this Order is to require the Comptroller and Auditor General (“C&AG”) to audit the accounts of—

(a)

the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation for the financial years ending on and after 31st March 2018,

(b)

the Housing Ombudsman for the financial years ending on and after 31st March 2018, and

(c)

the companies mentioned in article 4 for the financial years beginning on and after 1st April 2017.

Schedule 1 makes amendments to primary and secondary legislation for the following purposes—

(a)

to give full effect to the requirements that the C&AG audit the accounts of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and the Housing Ombudsman for the financial years ending on and after 31st March 2018, and

(b)

to repeal and revoke all legislation which requires the accounts of the bodies listed in Schedule 2 to this Order to be audited by the C&AG.

A full impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument because no impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.