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Written question asked by James Gray (Conservative) on Thursday, 4 March 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 12 March 2004. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Friday, 12 March 2004 on behalf of the Treasury.

Treasury

Question
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answer of 12th February, Official Report, column 1556W, on the Large Business Office, when the Director of Inland Revenue's Large Business Office first asked Inland Revenue's internal auditors to review the accuracy of the Large Business Office's compliance data for 2002-03; when the internal auditors reported their findings; when the relevant commissioner first made known to fellow board members of the existence of potentially unreliable reports of the Large Business Office's compliance performance; when the Board received the report on the issues of the 2003 review; when Inland Revenue first alerted the National Audit Office to the existence of previously overstated compliance performance for the Large Business Office in Inland Revenue's annual reports; how many of the Large Business Office's geographic offices were revealed by the 2003 follow-up review to have had at least one Large Business Office caseworker who was not reporting yield in line with departmental guidance; and what proportion of Large Business Office caseworkers were revealed not to be reporting yield in line with departmental guidance.
Answer

Mr. Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 12 February, Official Report, column 1556W, on the Large Business Office, when the Director of Inland Revenue's Large Business Office first asked Inland Revenue's internal auditors to review the accuracy of the Large Business Office's compliance data for 2002-03; when the internal auditors reported their findings; when the relevant commissioner first made known to fellow board members of the existence of potentially unreliable reports of the Large Business Office's compliance performance; when the Board received the report on the issues of the 2003 review; when Inland Revenue first alerted the National Audit Office to the existence of previously overstated compliance performance for the Large Business Office in Inland Revenue's annual reports; how many of the Large Business Office's geographic offices were revealed by the 2003 follow-up review to have had at least one Large Business Office caseworker who was not reporting yield in line with departmental guidance; and what proportion of Large Business Office caseworkers were revealed not to be reporting yield in line with departmental guidance. [160095] Dawn Primarolo: The Director of the LBO asked the Internal Audit Office to carry out a review of the 2002-03 figures in April 2003 (after the year end). The IAO made their report in August 2003. A design fault in the LBO computer system incorrectly invited Inspectors to enter a tax outcome for taxpayer favour adjustments. All taxpayer favour adjustments were recorded in this way. The Board was advised in October 2003 of the overall adjustments required to LBO yield figures. The issue was discussed with NAO at a working level in February 2004 as part of their general audit coverage of the Inland Revenue.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
160095; 418 c1749W;418 c1751W
Session
2003-04
Subjects
Audit Software Inland Revenue National Audit Office Standards Taxation
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk