Petition Privatise the £100m National Audit Office

The NAO costs UK taxpayers £100m per year. This is in addition to the £205,000 salary of Amyas Morse, his chauffeur-driven car benefits and £25,000 pay rise last year - in a period of public pay constraint!

There is no doubt that government departments must be scrutinised and audited, but this is work that could be readily done by private sector accountancy firms. (In fact the NAO already uses these firms for some of its work, proving the point). The NAO was no doubt a vital innovation in the 1800s but there is now a perfectly credible private sector alternative.

Moreover, as unelected Officers of the House, there is no way for the public to hold the NAO to account. I think Parliament should debate seriously the future of the NAO, why its officers are paid so much, and why the work could not be contracted out to private firms.