Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2015 to Question 227614, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the remit and powers of the Audit Committee of the Highways Agency.

As an executive agency, assurance is provided to the Secretary Of State through the accounting officer via the principal accounting officer, The Permanent Secretary. Each year the Audit Committee conducts an assessment of their effectiveness using the National Audit Office checklist that supports best practice for Audit Committees. Results of this are published in the annual report and discussed by the board through the chairman’s annual report.