Chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | annex A
Stating the exemption
Section 33 of the Freedom of Information Act provides that
1.1 Functions: This exemption applies only to departments who have relevant functions in relation to other public authorities. It will not apply where a department has functions in relation to private sector bodies, nor will it cover internal functions. It should also be noted that the exemption can only be claimed by the department carrying out the audit. It is not available to departments in so far as they are the object of those functions. Annex A gives some examples of bodies likely to be regarded as having relevant functions for these purposes.
1.2 Functions includes both powers and duties; they may therefore be in the nature of formal statutory duties, or less formal supervisory activity. For example, there may be ad hoc reviews set up within departments to look at the efficiency of NDPBs which come within their areas of responsibility. Similarly, Ministers may charge a department with examining the efficiency of another department or of departments more generally across government. An example would be the Lyons Review which was established within the Cabinet Office to look at whether efficiencies could be made by moving parts of departments out of Central London;or one public authority may be asked to carry out a peer review of another public authority. When government departments are charged with such tasks it is their function to carry them out. For this reason, any list of functions that might fall within this section is never going to be exhaustive.
1.3 In relation to the audit of accounts: Section 1(a) refers to financial audits. The term is not limited to the functions of carrying out audits by public authorities themselves, but could also include, for example, the functions of bodies like the Audit Commission who can appoint independent auditors to carry out an audit on their behalf. Broadly, the objective of a financial audit in the public sector is to provide independent assurance of the proper accounting and use of public resources. Such work will also assist audited bodies to improve their financial and risk management.
1.4 In relation to the examination of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness: Section 1(b) refers, in this context, to value-for-money audits. While no agreed definition of economy, efficiency and effectiveness exists, for the purposes of this guidance the following are intended to be useful guidelines. In terms of "economy" such audits are concerned with whether the public body secured resources for the lowest possible cost, subject to the maintenance of an adequate standard of quality. "Efficiency" involves the auditor in an assessment of performance, in terms of a comparison between output in respect of results achieved and input in respect of resources consumed. And "effectiveness" is concerned with the extent to which a body, project or programme achieves its stated objectives. Any department or agency which has responsibility for examining the performance of another public authority, including a consideration of how that public authority employs its resources in carrying out its functions, will fall within the scope of this section.
1.5 Resources: The term "resources" is not limited to financial resources but includes staff, premises, equipment etc.