Mr. Tony O'Brien:

As I said when I presented or discussed the original internal audit report, it is certainly clear that the arrangements could have been much tighter in the past. We are moving to a much tighter environment. All section-38 bodies and the bigger section-39 bodies - I will confine my remarks to section 38-bodies for this purpose - are now required to produce, as part of the submission of their annual accounts, a compliance certificate which covers many of the gaps that previously existed. This was suggested by the Comptroller and Auditor General at the meeting in question. I refer to a function that he would perform in relation to full public bodies that his staff audit. Their own auditors are now required not simply to audit with a view to ensuring the managerial pay is in conformity with the contract but also to ensuring it is in conformity with public policy. There will, in the future, be much more transparency. It is certainly true to say the work this committee undertook on some of the section-38 agencies has been very helpful to us in our process.