Dear Sir or Madam,

Under the Audit Commission's strategic plan it states as its five
main objectives:

* To raise standards of financial management and financial
reporting.

* To challenge public bodies to deliver better value for money.

* To encourage continual improvement in public services so they
meet the changing needs of diverse communities and provide fair
access for all.

* To promote high standards of governance and accountability.

* To stimulate significant improvement in the quality of data and
the use of information by decision makers.

The aim of these objectives is understood to be to improve public
services. It is understood that the Audit Commission is a public
service developed to ensure compliance with these laudable
objectives
(http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/about...)

What concrete steps has the Audit Commission actually taken since
2006 to ensure that the Audit Commission itself meets these
challenges. Taking into account that the Audit Commission appears
to have failed to meet its obligations under its own publication
scheme under the FoI, and expose itself to challenge in all aspects
of its work how has it been possible for it to identify that it has
raised its own standards.

How is the Audit Commission able to identify that it leads by
example ? or is the example that the Audit Commission sets followed
by the organisations that it is responsible for auditing ? Please
provide any documentation that the Audit Commission has identifying
that it is seeking to follow the strategic objectives it has set to
improve public services - and the results of its own internal
audits to identify compliance for these strategic objectives. If no
documentation is available - please state that this is the case and
identify unambiguously that the Audit Commission is unable to
demonstrate compliance itself with the strategic objectives it sets
for public services.

In particular please forward any documentation prepared for the
Commission Board since 2006 identifying failures of the Audit
Commission to follow its own strategic objectives - and the minutes
associated with these documents.

Yours faithfully,

Stuart HARDWICKE CARRUTHERS

Dear Mr Hardwicke Carruthers

Thank you for your request for information, received today 12 August
2008. Your request has been allocated reference RFI 882

With regards to the first part of your request, regarding the
Commission's compliance with the objectives of our strategic plan:

- Please see our latest Annual review, located as follows
http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/about... which
summaries how we are developing our key functions based on our strategic
objectives.
- This information is therefore exempt from disclosure under Freedom of
Information Act (FoIA) via Section 21 because the information is
reasonably accessible to you via another means.

With regards to the second part of your request, seeking documentation
prepared for the Commission Board since 2006 which identifies failures
of the Audit Commission to follow its own strategic objectives - and the
minutes associated with these documents.

- This part of your request is being considered and you will receive a
response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days (10 September
2008), as defined by the FoIA.

I may need to contact you if the request needs to be clarified; this is
to ensure that we provide you with the information you require.

Regards,

Gary Shipsey
Compliance Manager
BIS-Information Management

Tel: 0844798 6286

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Dear Mr Hardwicke Carruthers

Please find attached our response to the outstanding part of your
request for information, reference RFI 882

<<RFI 882 Response letter.doc>>

<<Access Information Complaints Procedure V2-0.pdf>>
Yours sincerely,

Gary Shipsey
Compliance Manager
BIS - Information Management

Tel: 0844 798 6286
Email: [email address]

For Freedom of Information (FOI) requests please email
[Audit Commission request email]

Please think before you print this email

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