Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of all audits undertaken or commissioned by the Department of Health into Action on Smoking and Health.

Lord Prior of Brampton

In financial year 2012/13, the Department grant awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) (under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968) was included in a sample of grants that was reviewed in an internal audit of the grant management arrangements of the Department. The audit included visits to the charities that formed part of the sample to test the information they provided to the Department and to garner their views on how the Department engaged with them. ASH was included in the work because its grant fulfilled the sample criteria.

The internal audit was not a review of the organisation and the way that it operated, its focus was on the Department grant management. It found that, at the time, there were satisfactory arrangements in place in the Department. The audit report did not raise any adverse comments about ASH or include any recommendations in relation to them. It is not normal practice to place copies of Internal Audit reports in the Library.