Class Description: Independent Inspections and findings regarding the organisation

The Auditing Process

The Trust is regularly audited by a number of external bodies including the following:

Northern Ireland Audit Office PriceWaterhouseCoopers The Beeches Management Centre, Internal Audit Service Accredited ISO assessors EFQM (The Northern Ireland Centre for Competitiveness)

Trust Accounts
The Trust’s accounts are audited annually by independent auditors who provide a certificate on the accuracy of the financial statements. This certificate is included within the Trust’s annual accounts.

Value for Money Studies
Value for money studies into Trust activities are carried out annually by independent management consultants appointed by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. The areas selected for review are determined by the DHSSPS and the audit scope agreed by the DHSSPS and the management consultants however in general these studies mirror large-scale reviews carried out by the National Audit Office in England. The results of the value for money studies for all Trusts in Northern Ireland are summarised into a regional report which is available to the public.

Charter Mark
Each year the Trust participates in the National Charter Mark Award for excellence in public service.
The cabinet office assessors visit those areas that have applied for an award and provide invaluable feedback reports on how the service is meeting the national standards for customer service. This also provides a benchmark for our services with the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Health & Personal Social Services Regulation and Improvement Authority
As part of the new “Quality, Improvement and Regulation Northern Ireland Order 2003”, an independent body will be set up in 2004 to monitor all HPSS organisations. At present new standards are being devised regionally for all services and Trusts will be audited and monitored on these standards. Reports will be sent to each Trust on their achievement and improvement notices will be issued with action timescales.

Equality Commission
The Trust is required to submit a report to the Equality Commission on an annual basis regarding progress on the implementation of its Equality Scheme.

Independent inspections and findings regarding the organisation.

Document Title	How to get it	Cost
Complaints Annual Report	Online	TBC
Equality Scheme
Equality Progress Report 05-06
Five Year Review of the Equality Scheme
Charter Mark Performance	Online	TBC