This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 12 March 2010:
Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
The Audit Commission’s full time equivalent (FTE) staffing levels at each year end since 1997 were:
FTE 1996-97 1,280 7 months to October 1997 1,295 1997-98 1,403 1998-99 1,600 1999-2000 1,885 2000-01 2,271 2001-02 2,437 17 months to March 2004 2,356 2004-05 2,307 2005-06 2,023 2006-07 2,005 2007-08 1,964 2008-09 1,971 Note: The Commission changed its financial year end in 1997 from March to October therefore there are two sets of accounts for that year. Our financial year end was changed again in 2004, so the period 2002-04 is for 17 months, from November 2002 to March 2004.
A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.