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Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced this week that the Audit Commission is to be scrapped. As well as being a local government auditor and advisor The Audit Commission has had a substantial role within the NHS.

In a press statement, Mr Pickles said the commission's research functions would stop and councils would be able to ask private companies to carry out audits. There would also be a "new audit framework" for local health services.

Its audit arm audits NHS organisations at all levels, while its research arm has produced a number of important reports on health service finance and related issues. Over the past decade, the Commission has also published a number of reports on medication errors that have made the case for e-prescribing.

www.e-health-insider.com/news/6163/government_to_scrap_audit_commission