More power for auditors to study royal spending

GOVERNMENT spending watchdogs are to be given increased access to the royal accounts, it was announced last night.

In future the National Audit Office will be able to examine accounts on how public grants for royal palaces and transport are spent. The palaces will receive an annual grant of pounds 15.8m this year, while royal transport cost the public purse pounds 2m in 1996-97.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has reluctantly agreed to more open access under pressure from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.

The committee had complained that it had no open access to the books and that this prevented full scrutiny of how the public money was spent. One member, the Labour MP Alan Williams, had been refused information on subsidised accommodation for royal employees and pensioners.

Although Sir John Bourn, who heads the NAO, will still have to ask the department for the information he wants, it is expected that in future he will always receive it. Yesterday Sir John described the announcement as "important and welcome". He said: "I look forward to a close working relationship with the relevant department and the officials of the Royal Household."

Mr Williams also declared himself happy with the agreement, though he added that there was still no access to details of the Civil List.

"This is a much more positive position. In the past there has been a rather deferential view of the palace instead of a recognition that this is taxpayers' money," he said.

David Davis, the committee chairman and Conservative MP for Haltemprice and Howden, said there should be transparency and accountability wherever taxpayers' money was spent.

"With the new arrangements the public will be able to have confidence that their money is being spent efficiently and wisely," he said.

The committee has also asked for open access to the accounts of Camelot, the firm which runs the National Lottery, of housing associations and on legal aid.