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Audit Commission

I congratulate the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Mr. Liddell- Grainger) on securing this debate. He knows where I come from. In a former life, I was an auditor with responsibility for auditing local authorities and other organisations on risk management, corporate governance and internal performance. When I was a councillor on Hartlepool borough council, I was also the portfolio holder for performance management, so the subject is dear to my heart. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on the manner in which he has raised the subject. It is serious, but he has discussed it in an entertaining manner. I have an awful lot to cover in the time available. If I do not cover all the matters involving audits, corporate governance and corporate performance, I will be more than happy not only to write to him but to meet him to discuss them further. The hon. Gentleman is a distinguished member of the Select Committee on Public Administration. Last night I was reading the transcripts of the Committee's current inquiry into good government. He raised many of the same issues there. I am also aware that part of the inquiry involves a consideration of mechanisms for assessing and improving Government performance. That is an important role. As the hon. Gentleman has said, the Audit Commission celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. From the very beginning, it has had a responsibility to assess, evaluate and promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services. That is what I want to cover in my response to him, the major theme of which, notwithstanding my invitation to meet him, is that this is not an abstract exercise, or something that can be put into the journals of some public sector magazine. This issue directly affects millions of people every day, and involves billions of pounds of taxpayers' money. I have been reading Duncan Campbell-Smith's excellent book "Follow the money—the Audit Commission, public money and the management of public services, 1983-2008", and I was struck by an extract from Andrew Marr's foreword that encapsulates what the hon. Gentleman and I both want from performance management. Andrew Marr states:""How do you actually make a council, or a health authority improve in the hundred small ways which, to the rest of us, may make the difference between a successful minor operation and a life-threatening infection, or living in a clean housing estate as opposed to a dangerous, damp-infested modern slum? After the crisp-sounding headlines and the rousing political prose, where are the levers, inducements, measurements and encouragement that translate aspiration into achievement, in offices, streets, police stations and so on? In short, after you've spoken, how do you do?""