Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

We believe that these amendments are unnecessary for a reason anticipated by the noble Baroness. There is no legal definition of a non-departmental public body and it has therefore been necessary to frame this clause, together with the other clauses in this chapter, to enable the Comptroller & Auditor General and other Auditors General to become eligible to audit any company, whether in the public or private sectors. But this would go beyond what the Government agreed in response to the recommendations made by the noble Lord, Lord Sharman, and could be potentially controversial in opening the way for the C&AG to audit companies right across the economy. Sir John Bourn and the other Auditors General have therefore confirmed that, unless there is a change in government policy in relation to the use of companies for central government activities, they have no intention of seeking to extend their remit beyond the range of companies agreed by the Government in our response to the recommendations of the noble Lord, Lord Sharman; that is, that they would expect to audit non-departmental public bodies established as companies and company subsidiaries of non-departmental public bodies and equivalent bodies in the devolved Assemblies. In addition to the commitment mentioned before, C&AG auditing powers for public sector bodies as an Officer of Parliament are enshrined in law, stemming from the Exchequer and Audit Departments Acts of 1866 and 1921, the National Audit Act 1983 and the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. With the commitments made by the Auditors General in mind and the legal constraints on the bodies the C&AG can audit, it seems unnecessary to go through an additional process of the Treasury designating through an order which public sector profit-making companies should be audited by the C&AG. The noble Baroness referred to self-denying ordinances. I believe those are properly structured agreements which have been entered into, and the text of those commitments could certainly be made available in the public domain. Further, I think a point has been raised by the institute which I should also clarify: we have no plans to use the Comptroller & Auditor General as an auditor of last resort for private sector companies. I hope that gives the noble Baroness the assurance she seeks regarding what we see as the role of the C&AG and that, as currently structured, the provisions are sufficient to deal with the matter.