Sir John Bourn - The NAO (Taking care of your money).- Part 2

From Private Eye:

Labour MP David Taylor, questioned Alan Williams chairman of the Public Accounts Commission complaining how failures of PFI attract little interest from the NAO.

Serious scruitiny of public money in Britain seems to have become very comfortable under Sir John's 19 year reign. But he has been very busy on his travels - as covered in last post -

Nor is there much point in asking any of the assistant auditor-generals about PFI oversights. Two of them were previously 73 year old Sir John's bag carriers, aka "private secretaries", who travelled with him on his far flung travels and picked up the exorbiant tabs on the NAO credit card.

Sir John, who answers to nobody for how he runs the NAO(National Audit Office), has an unlimited tenure and as a parliamentary appointee can only be ejected by votes from both Houses. But if word came from the top that he should go, he'd surely be off: so what explains his longevity?

Protected by legislation that gives him "complete discretion in the discharge of his functions", Bourn has steered an astute course. As well as signing off Whitehall's accounts, the NAO produces 60 "value for money" reports each year on subjects entirely of its own choosing. It duly dishes up enough to enable MP's on the public accounts committee(PAC) to give the manderins the odd satisfying bollocking.

But the NAO studiously avoids the big questions and Sir John has long acquiesced in the cosy convention that NAO audits are agreed with the government before being sent to the PAC.

No wonder that a survey has revealed that 78% of the NAO's own auitors think the organisation is over-cautious.
previous post:http://newportcity.blogspot.com/2007/05/john-bourn-taking-care-of-your-money.html

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Lady Loadsamoney
NAO
National Audit Office

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