Local Government Finance Act 1982

Section 11(4).

SCHEDULE 3The Audit Commission

Status

1The Commission shall be a body corporate.

2The Commission shall not be regarded as acting on behalf of the Crown and neither the Commission nor its members, officers or servants shall be regarded as Crown servants.

Functions of Secretary of State in relation to Commission

3(1)The Secretary of State may give the Commission directions as to the discharge of its functions and the Commission shall give effect to any such directions.

(2)The Commission shall furnish the Secretary of State with such information relating to the discharge of its functions as he may require and for that purpose shall permit any person authorised by him to inspect and make copies of any accounts or other documents of the Commission and shall afford such explanation of them as that person or the Secretary of State may require.

(3)No direction shall be given by the Secretary of State and no information shall be required by him under this paragraph in respect of any particular body whose accounts are required to be audited in accordance with Part III of this Act; and before giving any direction under this paragraph the Secretary of State shall consult the Commission, such associations of local authorities as appear to him to be concerned and such bodies of accountants as appear to him to be appropriate.

(4)The Secretary of State shall publish any direction given by him under this paragraph.

Tenure of office of members

4(1)Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, every member of the Commission shall hold and vacate his office in accordance with the terms of his appointment.

(2)Any member may resign by notice in writing to the Secretary of State, and the chairman or deputy chairman may by a like notice resign his office as such.

(3)The Secretary of State may remove a member from office if that member—

(a)has become bankrupt or made an arrangement with his creditors ;

(b)is incapacitated by physical or mental illness ;

(c)has been absent from meetings of the Commission for a period of six months otherwise than for a reason approved by the Secretary of State ; or

(d)is in the opinion of the Secretary of State otherwise unable or unfit to discharge the functions of a member.

(4)If the chairman or deputy chairman ceases to be a member he shall also cease to be chairman or deputy chairman.

Remuneration etc. of members

5(1)The Commission shall pay to each member such remuneration and allowances (if any) as the Secretary of State may determine.

(2)As regards any member in whose case the Secretary of State may so determine, the Commission shall pay or make provision for the payment of such sums by way of pension, allowances and gratuities to or in respect of him as the Secretary of State may determine.

(3)Where a person ceases to be a member otherwise than on the expiration of his term of office and it appears to the Secretary of State that there are special circumstances which make it right for him to receive compensation, the Commission shall pay as compensation to that person such amount as the Secretary of State may determine.

(4)Any determination by the Secretary of State under this paragraph shall require the consent of the Treasury.

House of Commons disqualification

6In Part III of Schedule 1 to the [1975 c. 24.] House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (disqualifying offices) there shall be inserted at the appropriate place in alphabetical order—

• “Any member of the Audit Commission for Local Authorities in England and Wales in receipt of remuneration”.

Staff

7(1)The Commission shall appoint a chief officer who shall be known as the Controller of Audit and his appointment shall require the approval of the Secretary of State.

(2)The Commission shall appoint such other officers and servants as it considers necessary for the discharge of its functions.

(3)The Commission's officers and servants (in this paragraph referred to as employees) shall be appointed at such remuneration and on such other terms and conditions as the Commission may determine.

(4)The Commission may pay such pensions, allowances or gratuities as it may determine to or in respect of any of its employees, make such payments as it may determine towards the provision of pensions, allowances or gratuities to or in respect of any of its employees or provide and maintain such schemes as it may determine (whether contributory or not) for the payment of pensions, allowances or gratuities to or in respect of any of its employees.

(5)The references in sub-paragraph (4) above to pensions, allowances or gratuities to or in respect of any employees include references to pensions, allowances or gratuities by way of compensation to or in respect of employees who suffer loss of office or employment.

(6)If an employee becomes a member of the Commission and was by reference to his employment by the Commission a participant in a pension scheme maintained by the Commission for the benefit of any of its employees, the Commission may determine that his service as a member shall be treated for the purposes of the scheme as service as an employee of the Commission whether or not any benefits are payable to or in respect of him by virtue of paragraph 5 above.

(7)Notwithstanding sub-paragraphs (1) and (3) above, the first Controller of Audit shall be appointed by the Secretary of State who shall determine the terms and conditions on which he is to be employed by the Commission.

8(1)It shall be the duty of the Commission to make, by such date as the Secretary of State may determine, an offer of employment by the Commission to each person employed in the civil service of the State as a district auditor, assistant to a district auditor or otherwise in the district audit service whose name is notified to the Commission by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this paragraph; and the terms of the offer must be such that they are, taken as a whole, not less favourable to the person to whom the offer is made than the terms on which he is employed on the date on which the offer is made.

(2)An offer made in pursuance of this paragraph shall not be revocable during the period of three months beginning with the date on which it is made.

(3)Where a person becomes an officer or servant of the Commission in consequence of this paragraph, then, for the purposes of the [1978 c. 44.] Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978, his period of employment in the civil service of the State shall count as a period of employment by the Commission and the change of employment shall not break the continuity of the period of employment.

(4)Where a person ceases to be employed as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above—

(a)on becoming an officer or servant of the Commission in con sequence of this paragraph ; or

(b)having unreasonably refused an offer made to him in pursuance of this paragraph,

he shall not, on ceasing to be so employed, be treated for the purposes of any scheme under section 1 of the [1972 c. 11.] Superannuation Act 1972 as having been retired on redundancy.

Financial provisions

9It shall be the duty of the Commission so to manage its affairs that its income from fees and otherwise will, taking one year with another, be not less than its expenditure properly chargeable to its income and expenditure account.

10(1)The Commission may borrow—

(a)from the Secretary of State ; or

(b)temporarily (by way of overdraft or otherwise) and with his consent, from any other person,

such sums as it may require for the purpose of meeting its obligations and discharging its functions.

(2)The aggregate amount outstanding in respect of the principal of any sums borrowed by the Commission under sub-paragraph (1) above shall not exceed £4 million or such greater sum, not exceeding £20 million, as the Secretary of State may from time to time by order specify; and no such order shall be made unless a draft of the order has been approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.

(3)The Secretary of State may lend to the Commission any sums which it has power to borrow under sub-paragraph (1)(a) above ; and the Treasury may issue to the Secretary of State out of the National Loans Fund any sums necessary to enable him to make loans under this sub-paragraph.

(4)Loans made under sub-paragraph (3) above shall be repaid to the Secretary of State at such times and by such methods, and interest on the loans shall be paid to him at such times and at such rates, as he may from time to time determine.

(5)All sums received by the Secretary of State under sub-paragraph (4) above shall be paid into the National Loans Fund.

(6)The Secretary of State shall prepare, in respect of each financial year and in such form as the Treasury may direct, an account—

(a)of any sums issued to him under sub-paragraph (3) above or received by him under sub-paragraph (4) above ; and

(b)of the disposal by him of any sums so received,

and shall send the account to the Comptroller and Auditor General not later than the end of the month of November following the financial year to which it relates ; and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, certify and report on the account and lay copies of it and of his report before each House of Parliament.

(7)Any consent, loan or determination by the Secretary of State under this paragraph shall require the approval of the Treasury.

11(1)The Treasury may guarantee, in such manner and on such conditions as they think fit, the repayment of the principal of and the payment of interest on any sums which the Commission borrows from a person other than the Secretary of State.

(2)Immediately after a guarantee is given under this paragraph, the Treasury shall lay a statement of the guarantee before each House of Parliament; and where any sum is issued for fulfilling a guarantee so given, the Treasury shall lay before each House of Parliament a statement relating to that sum as soon as possible after the end of each financial year beginning with that in which the sum is issued and ending with that in which all liability in respect of the principal sum and in respect of interest on it is finally discharged.

(3)Any sums required by the Treasury for fulfilling a guarantee under this paragraph shall be charged on and issued out of the Consolidated Fund.

(4)If any sums are issued in fulfilment of a guarantee given under this paragraph, the Commission shall make to the Treasury, at such times and in such manner as the Treasury may from time to time direct, payments of such amounts as the Treasury so direct in or towards repayment of the sums so issued and payments of interest, at such rates as the Treasury so direct, on what is outstanding for the time being in respect of sums so issued.

(5)Any sums received by the Treasury in pursuance of sub-paragraph (4) above shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

12(1)The Commission shall keep proper accounts and other records in relation to its accounts and shall prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of account in such form as the Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, direct.

(2)The statement of account prepared by the Commission in respect of each financial year shall be submitted to the Secretary of State before such date as he may, with the approval of the Treasury, direct.

(3)The Secretary of State shall, on or before 30th November in each year, transmit to the Comptroller and Auditor General the statement of account prepared by the Commission for the financial year last ended.

(4)The Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify the statement of account transmitted to him under sub-paragraph (3) above and shall lay before Parliament copies of that statement together with his report thereon.

Proceedings

13(1)The Commission shall regulate its own proceedings.

(2)The validity of any proceedings of the Commission shall not be affected by any vacancy among its members or by any defect in the appointment of any of its members.

14(1)The application of the seal of the Commission shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman or of some other member authorised either generally or specially by the Commission for that purpose.

(2)Any document purporting to be a document duly executed under the seal of the Commission shall be received in evidence and shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be so executed.

Annual report

15(1)The Commission shall publish an annual report on the discharge of its functions.

(2)Copies of each annual report shall be sent by the Commission to the Secretary of State who shall lay copies of it before each House of Parliament.