3.—(1) The accounts of the Housing Ombudsman(1) shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General in relation to the financial years ending on and after 31st March 2017.
(2) As soon as reasonably practicable after the end of a financial year to which paragraph (1) applies, the Housing Ombudsman must send the accounts for that year to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
(3) The Comptroller and Auditor General must—
(a)examine, certify and report on any accounts sent by the Housing Ombudsman under paragraph (2), and
(b)send the certified accounts and the report to the Ombudsman and the Secretary of State.
(4) The Secretary of State must lay any accounts received under paragraph (3)(b), together with the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on those accounts, before each House of Parliament.
(5) The Housing Ombudsman scheme is amended as follows—
(a)in paragraph 51—
(i)omit “and the annually audited accounts”, and
(ii)for “them” substitute “the report”;
(b)in paragraph 69, omit the words from “which will be audited” to the end; and
(c)omit paragraph 70.
(6) In paragraph (5), “the Housing Ombudsman scheme” means the Housing Ombudsman Service Scheme which originally came into effect on 1st April 2013 after having been approved by the Secretary of State under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1996, a copy of which has been deposited at the principal office of the Housing Ombudsman(2) and published on the Housing Ombudsman’s website(3).
The Housing Ombudsman was incorporated by the Housing Ombudsman (Sole Corporation) Order 2013 made pursuant to paragraph 10(2)(b) of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1996 (c.52).
The document is available for inspection at the following address; The Housing Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange Square, London E14 9GE.
The document can be found on the Housing Ombudsman website at the following address; http://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/media/13142/hos-scheme-final.pdf.