Statement of the Information Commissioner

This summary FinancialStatement is a summary of information extracted from the full annual accounts and does not contain sufficient information to allow for a full understanding of the financial affairs of the Information Commissioner. For further information, the full annual accounts and the auditor’s report on those accounts should be consulted. These are available free of charge on request from the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF or the website www.ico.gov.uk.

The full accounts were signed by the Information Commissioner on 11 June 2007.

The Comptroller and Auditor General who has been appointed under the Data Protection Act 1998 as auditor, gave an unqualified opinion.

Richard Thomas, Information Commissioner
11 June 2007

Statement of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Parliament

I have examined the Summary Financial Statement of the Information Commissioner comprising a summary income and expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2007 and a summary balance sheet as at that date.

Respective responsibilities of the Information Commissioner and Auditor

The Information Commissioner is responsible for preparing the Summary Financial Statement. My responsibility is to report to you my opinion on its preparation and consistency with the full annual report. Basis of audit opinion I have conducted my work in accordance with Audit Bulletin 1999/6, ‘The auditors’ statement on the summary financial statement’, issued by the Auditing Practices Board. My certificate on the full accounts of the Information Commissioner describes the basis of my opinion on those accounts. I have also read the other information contained in the Annual Report and consider the implications for my opinion if I become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the Summary Financial Statement.

Opinion

In my opinion the Summary Financial Statement is consistent with the full annual report and accounts of the Information Commissioner for the year ended 31 March 2007.

John Bourn,
Comptroller and Auditor General,
26 June 2007

National Audit Office,
157-197 Buckingham Palace Road,
Victoria London SW1W 9SP

Summary income and expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2007

	2006/07		2005/06 RE-STATED
	£	£	£	£
Income
Operating income	9,898,052		9,421,325
Other Income	26,222		14,852
		9,924,274		9,436,177
Expenditure
Staff Costs	8,353,825		7,158,834
Other operating costs	6,928,451		6,268,098
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets	2,050,724		1,910,033
Unrealised loss on tangible fixed assets	4,961	(17,337,961)	555,778	(15,899,153)
Operating surplus		(7,413,687)		(6,462,976)
Interest receivable		53,115		50,250

The salary of the Information Commissioner and most senior officials was
	2006/07 £'000	2005/06 £'000
Richard Thomas, Information Commissioner	95-100	95-100
Graham Smith, Deputy Commissioner	70-75	70-75
David Smith, Deputy Commissioner	60-65	25-30
		(Full year equivalent 60-65)

Salaries in the band £10,000-£15,000 were paid to each of the four Non-Executive Board Members.

Summary balance sheet as at 31 March 2007

	31 March 2007		31 March 2007 RE-STATED
		£		£
Fixed Assets
Tangible fixed assets		3,280,534		4,468,712
Current assets
Debtors and prepayments	514,163		517,420
Cash at bank and in hand	472,224		380,894
	986,387		898,314
Creditors-amounts falling due within one year	(5,929,871)		(5,437,212)
Net current (liabilities)		(4,943,484)		(4,538,898)
Net (liabilities)		(1,662,950)		(70,186)
Reserves
Income and expenditure reserve		(1,852,493)		(95,493)
Revaluation reserve		189,543		25,307
		(1,662,950)		(70,186)

Comparatives have been re-stated as a prior year adjustment