Press Release - Royal Mint Trading Fund: 2001-02 Accounts
17 October 2002
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, today
reported to Parliament on the 2001-02 trading fund accounts of the
Royal Mint. Sir John noted that the Royal Mint had recorded an
operating loss (excluding the one-off costs of a restructuring
programme) of £6.5 million for the 2001-02 financial year - its
second consecutive year of operating losses.
The report sets out the reasons for the Royal Mint's declining
financial performance over recent years, and describes the
corrective action that the Mint is taking to address this. A £12
million restructuring programme was announced by the Royal Mint in
March 2002, which will involve around 200 redundancies from amongst
the 1,200 strong workforce at the Mint's plant in Llantrisant,
South Wales. The costs of this programme have been treated as an
exceptional item in the 2001-02 accounts, taking the Mint's overall
operating loss for the year to some £18.5 million.
Earlier this year, the Deputy Master of the Mint was alerted to
allegations that the Mint had been involved in the making of
improper payments. He immediately alerted Treasury Ministers and,
with their consent as the allegations predated his tenure at the
Mint, conducted an internal investigation. His report was submitted
to the Serious Fraud Office, which is currently carrying out an
investigation in conjunction with Ministry of Defence Police.
Sir John also reports on the circumstances surrounding the theft
of over £25,000 in £20 notes from the Royal Mint during 2001.
The report summarises the main findings of a recent independent
review of the Mint's internal financial control systems, which
followed these two incidents and was conducted by Grant Thornton.
The report sets out the actions that the Mint's management are
taking to address the recommendations made by the review team.
Sir John said today:
"The Royal Mint's declining financial performance in
recent years is largely a consequence of the external pressures of
a highly competitive global market. The Mint now faces a
challenging and painful period of restructuring as it seeks to
return to overall profitability."
Notes for Editors
- The Royal Mint is an executive agency and has operated as a
Trading Fund since 1975. The 'Deputy Master of the Mint', Gerald
Sheehan, is the equivalent of the Chief Executive and is
accountable to Parliament for its operations. As a Trading Fund,
the Royal Mint operates on commercial lines, receives no public
subsidy and is required by Ministers to break even, taking one year
with another.The House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts
(PAC) intends to take evidence on Sir John's report at its meeting
on 23 October 2002.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at http://www.nao.org.uk/ Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office employing some 750 staff. He and
the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 58/02
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