Written question asked by Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative) on Thursday, 12 February 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 March 2004. It was answered by Nick Raynsford (Labour) on Monday, 8 March 2004 on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Question: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, which metropolitan authorities have been identified by the Audit Commission in the last 10 years as having serious shortcomings in their financial controls; and what action his Department has taken in each case. (Printed on 23.02.2004 in Bound Volume 418 c333-4W).

Answer: Mr. Brady: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which metropolitan authorities have been identified by the Audit Commission in the last 10 years as having serious shortcomings in their financial controls; and what action his Department has taken in each case. [155996] Mr. Raynsford: Until the Best Value framework was established by the Local Government Act 1999 and the results of Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPAs) became available, central Government did not hold comprehensive information on which authorities the Audit Commission had identified as having serious shortcomings in their financial controls. Two metropolitan authorities now have been identified under these processes: Walsall, as the result of a corporate governance review which found significant weaknesses in its financial processes; and North Tyneside, which scored the lowest possible rating for financial standing in its CPA. Both Walsall and North Tyneside received overall assessments of "poor" in their CPA assessments. In common with other authorities assessed as poor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has appointed a lead official to work closely with each authority, and is providing support at the appropriate level to achieve recovery, including thorough advice and help with capacity building.

Secondary information