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About Us: Frequently Asked Questions

This page is a list of commonly asked questions and associated answers.

Questions about the National Audit Office
Raising concerns about public spending
Obtaining information held by, or publications produced by the NAO


Questions about the National Audit Office

Q. What is the role of the National Audit Office?

A. The role of the National Audit Office is to audit the accounts of all government departments and agencies as well as a wide range of other public bodies, and report to Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which these bodies have used public money. Audit and inspection rights are vested in the Comptroller and Auditor General, the staff of the National Audit Office carry out these tasks on his behalf.

 We do not audit local government spending or publish statistical information. The Audit Commission (an entirely separate body from the National Audit Office) is responsible for the audit of local government spending. The Office for National Statistics is responsible for publishing statistical information about the UK.
 

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Q. Is Comptroller a misspelling? Should it really read Controller? 

A. No, comptroller is the correct spelling. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word comptroller first appeared in around 1500 and was originally a misspelling of controller. It is retained in some official titles, such as Comptroller and Auditor General, which is itself an abbreviation of the title Comptroller General of the Receipt and Issue of Her Majesty's Exchequer and Auditor General of Public Accounts. This role was created by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 which combined the functions of the Comptroller of the Exchequer, (who had authorised the issue of public monies to departments since 1834) with those of the Commissioners of Audit, (who had traditionally presented the government accounts to the Treasury). Under the terms of the act the Comptroller and Auditor General continued to authorise the issue of money to departments (the Comptroller function) and was given the new task of examining departmental accounts and reporting the results to Parliament.

 

Q. From where do the Comptroller and Auditor General and the NAO derive their authority?

A. There are four main acts of parliament from which the Comptroller and Auditor General and the NAO derive their authority. These are the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000; National Audit Act 1983; Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921; and the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866.

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Q. What are the arrangements for public audit across the United Kingdom after devolution in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales?

A. The National Audit Office, on behalf of the Comptroller and Auditor General of the United Kingdom, audits matters "reserved" to the UK Government after devolution including defence, foreign affairs, social security and central government taxation, and all other expenditure by central government departments in England. We are also responsible for auditing the payment of the block grants to the devolved administrations and direct expenditure by the Scotland Office, Wales Office and Northern Ireland Office. (The audit of direct expenditure by the Northern Ireland Office is carried out by the Northern Ireland Audit Office on behalf of the UK Comptroller and Auditor General). In addition, we conduct financial audits and/ or value for money examinations of a number of public bodies whose functions are not reserved by Westminster but nonetheless operate across the UK.

There are also separate audit arrangements for each of the devolved assemblies:

The Auditor General for Scotland is an office created by the Scotland Act 1998. The Auditor General for Scotland audits or appoints the auditor to those bodies funded by the Scottish Parliament. Audit Scotland provides services to the Auditor General and the Accounts Commission, which is responsible for the audit of local authorities, fire and police boards. The Auditor General for Scotland reports to the Scottish Parliament.

The Wales Audit Office was created on 1 April 2005 by the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004. It brings together the office of the Audit Commission in Wales with that of the National Audit Office in Wales, under the Auditor General for Wales. The Auditor General for Wales, as head of the Wales Audit Office, directly audits bodies such as the Welsh Assembly Government or, in the case of local government, appoints auditors to undertake financial audit and examine local value for money matters. The Auditor General for Wales reports to the National Assembly for Wales.

There has been a separate Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland since 1921. Under devolution the responsibilities of the C&AG for Northern Ireland remain unchanged but the holder of the office reports to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The C&AG for Northern Ireland is responsible for the audit of Northern Ireland Departments and a wide range of public sector bodies including the cross border authorities created by the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The C&AG for Northern Ireland is supported by the staff of the Northern Ireland Audit Office. During periods when devolution is suspended in Northern Ireland, the C&AG for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Audit Office report to Parliament in Westminster.

 

Q. How is the National Audit Office held accountable?

A. The National Audit Office is accountable to the House of Commons Public Accounts Commission, an all party committee of MPs who appoint our Accounting Officer, examine our annual Supply Estimate and appoint the auditors of our annual accounts. Tenon (Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors) were appointed by the Public Accounts Commission as our current auditors for 3 years commencing 1 June 2006 with a 2 year extension. A set of our latest accounts is contained in our annual report.

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Q. I am a member of the public and have a concern or complaint about the National Audit Office, who do I contact?

A. Concerns or complaints regarding the National Audit Office itself should be addressed in writing to the Comptroller and Auditor General:

Tim Burr
Comptroller and Auditor General
Private Office
National Audit Office
151 Buckingham Palace Road
London
SW1W 9SS

Or email Tim Burr through our enquiries desk. Please mark your email for his attention.

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Raising concerns about public spending

Q. I am a member of the public and have concerns about the misuse of public monies, who do I contact?

A. Concerns regarding central government spending may come under our remit. Complaints should be addressed in writing to the Comptroller and Auditor General who will deal with the matter as appropriate:

Tim Burr
Comptroller and Auditor General
Private Office
National Audit Office
151 Buckingham Palace Road
London
SW1W 9SS

Email Tim Burr through our enquiries desk, please mark your email for his attention

Concerns regarding local government spending come under the remit of the Audit Commission. Information about the Audit Commission and contact details can be found on their website.

Q. I work for a central government department and have concerns about the misuse of public monies who do I contact?

A. Please call the Whistleblowers Hotline 020 7798 7999. More information is available at http://www.nao.org.uk/whistle.htm

Obtaining information held by, or publications produced by, the NAO

Q. What information can I get from the NAO under the Freedom of Information Act 2000?

A. The NAO is subject to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000, which comes into force on January 1st 2005. Under the Act, anybody may request information from a public authority such as the NAO. More information about the Act is available from the website of the Department of Constitutional Affairs.

The Act also requires the NAO to maintain a Publication Scheme specifying the classes of information that we publish or intend to publish. The aim of the scheme is to explain what information the NAO proactively makes available to the public, and, wherever possible, to provide an easy method of accessing that information.

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Q. Can I obtain up to date information or statistics following on from previous NAO reports?

A. Our reports are published on a one off basis and we do not collect statistics as a matter of course. The Office for National Statistics is responsible for collecting statistical information on a regular basis and may be able to help you, more information is available on their website.

Q. Can you give me the latest statistics on…?

A. The National Audit Office does not collect statistical information. You need to contact the Office for National Statistics who are responsible for collecting the UK's official statistics, reflecting Britain's economy, population and society at national and local level. 

Q. What topics are the NAO currently looking at?

A. You can find information about our work in progress, including contact details, on the NAO website.

Q. How do I obtain copies of NAO reports?

A. All VFM reports from the 1999/2000 parliamentary session onwards are available, as PDF documents, free of charge on our website. You can search for reports by subject or by parliamentary session.

If you would like an electronic copy of a report published before 1999/2000, please contact enquiries, quoting the title, HC number and parliamentary session of the report.

Financial Reports on Accounts are also listed by publication date, and also by account type.

Printed copies of all NAO reports, including Value For Money (VFM)reports and resource accounts/reports on accounts are available to purchase from The Stationery Office. Any library with a collection of official publications should also have copies.

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