CONCLUSION
63. One of the most important aspects of the Sub-committee's
work has been to expose to parliamentary scrutiny a number of
obscure Whitehall departments which have rarely, if ever, needed
to explain or justify their activities to the House and the world
at large. In general, the bodies we have scrutinised are working
hard to tackle complex administrative and political problems,
often against a background of rapid change in their roles, responsibilities
and methods. Where we have made criticisms or suggested reforms
the Government has usually responded with respect, treating our
comments seriously if not always agreeing with them. Our on-going
scrutiny of the new arrangements for national statistics have
played a significant role in their development; we have repeatedly
prompted the Government to clarify the purposes and expected outcomes
of the programme of Closer Working between the revenue authorities,
contributing to changes in the programme; our recommendations
on tackling tobacco smuggling were largely taken up by the Government
at the time of the March 2000 Budget; and numerous recommendations
to improve the accountability of the departments to Parliament
have been accepted. We consider it important that, in the new
Parliament, the Treasury Committee re-establishes its Sub-committee
in order to ensure that the Chancellor's departments, and the
policies for which they are responsible, continue to be scrutinised.
Future Work of the Sub-committee
64. There are four bodies for which Treasury Ministers
are responsible which the Sub-committee has not yet scrutinised:
the Royal Mint, the Government Actuary's Department, the Registry
of Friendly Societies and the Office of Government Commerce. We
have announced inquiries into the first two of these bodies, which
will take place in the new year. We decided in May 1999 not to
inquire into the work of the Registry of Friendly Societies because
of the intention to merge it with the Financial Services Authority.[99]
The Office of Government Commerce was created on 1 April 2000
and we have no plans as yet to examine its work.
32 Treasury Committee, Minutes of Proceedings,
1997-98, HC 1182, p xxi. Back
33 Appendices
2 and 3, p 9-11. Back
34 Second
Report, 1999-2000, HM Customs and Excise, HC 53, paragraphs
20-22, 64. Back
35 Sixth
Special Report, 1999-2000, Government's Cash and Debt Management:
The Government's Response to the Committee's Sixth Report of Session
1999-2000, HC 869, p xii. Back
36 First
Report, 1998-99, Office for National Statistics, HC 43-I. Back
37 Second
Special Report, 1998-99, Office for National Statistics: Responses
by the Government and the Bank of England to the First Report
of the Committee in Session 1998-99, HC 267. Back
38 Minutes
of Evidence, 1999-2000, Office for National Statistics: Progress
Report, HC 293. Back
39 Sixth
Report, 1998-99, Inland Revenue, HC 199 (hereafter IR
Report), and Sixth Special Report, 1998-99, Inland Revenue:
The Government's Response to the Sixth Report of the Committee
in Session 1998-99, HC 746 (hereafter IR Reply). Back
40 Minutes
of Evidence, HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue:
Progress Reports, HC 953 (hereafter HMCE and IR Progress). Back
41 Ibid,
Q 123-5. Back
42 Ibid,
Q 70; Ev, p 30. Back
43 Ibid,
Q 88. Back
44 Ibid,
Q 71. Back
45 Ibid,
Ev, p 89, para 22. Back
46 Ibid,
Q 83, 86; this has now been changed. Back
47 Ibid,
Ev, p 101, paras 4-11. Back
48 Ibid,
Q 96. Back
49 IR
Report, Table 3, p xxi, and
HMCE and IR Progress, Ev, p 36. Back
50 HMCE
and IR Progress, Q 99. Back
51 Ibid,
Q 102-7. Back
52 Ibid,
Q 97-8. Back
53 IR
Reply, p ix. Back
54 HMCE
and IR Progress, Q 99. Back
55 Ibid,
Ev, p 90-1, para 34. Back
56 Ibid,
Ev, p 39. Back
57 Ibid,
Q 128-66. Back
58 Ibid,
Q 93. Back
59 See
paragraph 53. Back
60 Tenth
Report, 1998-99, Valuation Office Agency, HC 420 (hereafter
VOA Report), and First Special Report, 1999-2000, Valuation
Office Agency: The Government's Response to the Committee's Tenth
Report of Session 1998-99, HC 197 (hereafter VOA Reply). Back
61 Appendix
4, p 12. Back
62 Appendix
1, p 5. Back
63 VOA
Report, paragraph 46. Back
64 VOA
Reply, p v. Back
65 VOA
Report, Q 198. Back
66 Valuation
Office Agency Annual Report and Accounts 1999-2000,
HC (1999-2000) 646. Back
67 Second
Report, 1999-2000, HM Customs and Excise, HC 53 (hereafter
HMCE Report), and Second Special Report, 1999-2000, HM
Customs and Excise: The Government's Response to the Committee's
Second Report of Session 1999-2000, HC 442. Back
68 HMCE
and IR Progress. Back
69 Ibid,
Q 43-53. Back
70 Ibid,
Q 4-5. Back
71 Ibid,
Q 8. Back
72 Ibid,
Q 8, 29-31. Back
73 HMCE
Report, paragraphs 8, 30,
87. Back
74 HMCE
and IR Progress, Q 11-12. Back
75 Ibid,
Q 25. Back
76 Ibid,
Q 60. Back
77 Ibid. Back
78 HMCE
Report, paragraphs 23-34. Back
79 "HM
Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue Working Together for
a Better Public Service", HM Customs and Excise, 15 Feb 00. Back
80 HMCE
and IR Progress, p 17, paras
1.3-1.4. Back
81
"HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue Working Together
for a Better Public Service", HM Customs and Excise, 15 Feb
00. Back
82 HMCE
and IR Progress, Q 15. Back
83 HMCE
Report, paragraph 26. Back
84 HMCE
and IR Progress, Q 19, 21. Back
85 "Paymaster
General Announces Independent Investigation into Excise Control
Regimes", HM Customs and Excise, PR26/2000, 30 Jun 00. Back
86
"Independent Investigation Head Appointed to Check Excise
Control Regimes", HM Customs and Excise, PR28/2000, 7 Jul
00. Back
87 Health
Committee, Second Report, 1999-2000, The Tobacco Industry and
the Health Risks of Smoking, HC 27. Back
88 HMCE
and IR Progress, Q 37-8. Back
89 Ibid,
p 73. Back
90
"Byers Announces Investigation into British American Tobacco
plc", DTI, P/2000/713, 30 Oct 00. Back
91 HMCE
and IR Progress, p 61-7. Back
92 Ibid,
Q 54-8. Back
93 Ibid,
p 109-113. Back
94 Sixth
Report, 1999-2000, Government's Cash and Debt Management,
HC 154 (hereafter Cash and Debt), and Sixth Special Report,
1999-2000, Government's Cash and Debt Management: The Government's
Response to the Committee's Sixth Report of Session 1999-2000,
HC 869. Back
95 We
have printed as Appendix 5 to this Report, p 13, a response from
Mr Anthony Loehnis, CMG, Chairman of the Public Works Loan Board
Commissioners. Back
96 Cash
and Debt, paragraph 77. Back
97 Official
Report, 24 Jul 00, c490W. Back
98 The
visits to Germany and the US were part of Treasury Committee visits
to those countries. Back
99 Treasury
Committee, Minutes of Proceedings, 1998-99, HC 921, p xxv;
The Government's Expenditure Plans: Chancellor of the Exchequer's
Departments 2000-01 to 2001-02, HM Treasury, Apr 00, p 112. Back