Bank of England and Financial Services Act 2016

10 Activities indemnified by Treasury

In the Bank of England Act 1998, after section 7A insert—

“7B Reports on Bank activities indemnified by Treasury

(1) This section applies where the Treasury give an indemnity or guarantee to the Bank in respect of an activity or series of activities undertaken by the Bank.

(2) The Treasury may direct the Bank to prepare a financial report in relation to the activity or series of activities to which the indemnity or guarantee relates.

(3) A direction under subsection (2) may include directions as to—

(a) the financial years for which a report is to be prepared,

(b) the information to be contained in the report and the manner in which it is to be presented, and

(c) the methods and principles according to which any statement of financial information to be contained in the report is to be prepared.

(4) A direction under subsection (2) may be revoked by a further direction.

(5) The Bank must send any report that it prepares under subsection (2) to the Treasury.

(6) The Treasury may send the report to the Comptroller and Auditor General (“the Comptroller”) for review.

(7) The review is to consider such matters as may be agreed between the Comptroller and the Treasury.

(8) The Comptroller—

(a) has a right of access at any reasonable time to any document the Comptroller may reasonably require for the purposes of the review, and

(b) may require any person holding or accountable for any such document to provide such information and explanation as are reasonably necessary.

(9) Subsection (8) applies only to documents in the custody or under the control of—

(a) the Bank;

(b) the auditor or auditors appointed by the Bank under section 7(5).

(10) An obligation imposed on a person as a result of the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (8) is enforceable by injunction or, in Scotland, by an order for specific performance under section 45 of the Court of Session Act 1988.

7C Accounts of Bank companies carrying on activities indemnified by Treasury

(1) This section applies where the Treasury give an indemnity or guarantee to a company (“the company”) in which the Bank has an interest, in respect of an activity or series of activities undertaken by the company.

(2) The Treasury may direct the company to send to the Comptroller and Auditor General (“the Comptroller”) accounts prepared by it in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and any direction given by the Bank under section 7A(1).

(3) A direction given under subsection (2)—

(a) may relate to all financial years, or to financial years specified in the direction;

(b) may be revoked by a further direction.

(4) Where a direction given under subsection (2) has effect in relation to a financial year, the company is exempt from the requirements of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 (audit) for that financial year, and its balance sheet must include a statement to that effect.

(5) The Comptroller must examine any accounts sent to the Comptroller under this section with a view to satisfying himself or herself that the accounts have been properly prepared in all material respects in accordance with the bases of preparation identified in the accounts.

(6) After completing the examination the Comptroller must—

(a) certify the accounts and issue a report,

(b) send the certified accounts and the report to the Treasury, and

(c) if not satisfied that the accounts have been properly prepared in all material respects in accordance with the bases of preparation identified in the accounts, report to the House of Commons.

(7) The Treasury must lay the copy of the certified accounts and the report before Parliament.

(8) For the purposes of this section, the Bank has an interest in a company if—

(a) the Bank, or a nominee of the Bank, is a member of the company, or

(b) the company is a subsidiary undertaking of the Bank, within the meaning of section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006.”