Appendix J
E-mail from the Clerk of the Committee to the
Department of Health
There is one further query on the proposal arising
from your response to the Committee's request for information.
The point at issue is the requirement on NHS charities
to assist in the audit or examination of their accounts, which
was outlined in the explanatory statement. You indicated in your
letter of 6 February that the requirement was contained in sections
6 and 48 of the Audit Commission Act 1998. These sections apply
to bodies which are subject to audit under the 1998 Act.
But the effect of article 4 of the proposed order
is to amend Schedule 2 to the 1998 Act, thereby removing NHS charity
trustees from the list of bodies subject to audit under the 1998
Act. It appears that sections 6 and 48 of the 1998 Act will not,
as a consequence, apply to NHS charities.
However, regulation 8 of the Charities (Accounts
and Report) Regulations 1995, which imposes similar requirements
to those in section 6 of the 1998 Act, is to be applied to the
accounts of NHS charities (with modifications as set out in the
Schedule to the draft order). We wonder whether this is in fact
where the requirement lies, and not in sections 6 and 48 of the
1998 Act.
I would be grateful if you could look at the point
again and indicate whether the interpretation above is accurate.
27 February 2004
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