Clause 6 - Accounts and audit
Police (Northern Ireland) Bill [Lords]
3:15 pm
Ms Angela Smith (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Basildon, Labour/Co-operative)
I think that I can help the hon. Gentleman. The reason for the drafting of the clause is the new FRS 17 accounting standards, which require employers who pay pensions out of their own resources to show in their account full details for schemes, liabilities and assets. That has to be recorded separately, and we do not want it to overshadow or draw attention away from the record of the core financial performance of the police.
The clause amends the provisions of the 2000 Act relating to accounts and the audit of the grant for policing purposes. Taking into account FRS 17, it requires the board to draw up four separate accounts for the four separate strands of money handled by the police: first, amounts placed at the Chief Constable's disposal for police pension purposes; secondly, amounts placed at the Chief Constable's disposal for other police purposes; thirdly, the police fund provided for in section 28 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998; and fourthly, the police property fund established by the Police (Disposal of Property) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1974 and falling under section 31 of the 1998 Act.
The statutory police fund is separate from the police fund that is chaired by Sir John Semple. I hope that my reassurance that this accounting measure has been brought forward because of FRS 17 will satisfy the members of the Committee.