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With the Serious Crime Act 2007 adding a new Part 3A to the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004, the Auditor General has been given a new statutory power to conduct data matching exercises. This power is expected to come into force on 6 April 2008.
The new legislation requires the preparation of a code of practice to govern the Auditor General’s data matching exercises, and consultation on it before laying it before the National Assembly for Wales. The Auditor General has therefore drawn up a draft Code of Data Matching Practice (below), and is seeking any comments that you may have on it.
The Auditor General should very much appreciate it if you would consider this draft Code, particularly in terms of the consultation questions set out in it. The consultation period is 12 weeks, closing on 4 June 2008. Please send your comments to walescode@wao.gov.uk or by writing to Martin Peters, Wales Audit Office, 24 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 3PA. (Paper copies of the Code are also available from Martin Peters.) The Auditor General will publish feedback on the consultation process on the WAO website.
The Auditor General expects to finalise the Code and to publish and lay it before the National Assembly for Wales in July 2008, in good time for participating bodies to prepare for the next NFI exercise, which commences in October 2008.
For a copy of the draft consultation click here (pdf).
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