George Monbiot was correct to state that internal drainage boards “don’t appear to be answerable to any government department” (Journal, 12 February), and if Innes Thomson (Letters, 20 February) has read the 2017 National Audit Office report on IDB governance, he will know that Monbiot’s assessment is spot-on. The report states: “There is no statutory governance standard for IDBs and the government has no legislative powers to ensure that IDBs, as public bodies, meet expectations for good-quality internal governance and sound financial management … local authorities have no legal powers to directly influence IDBs’ governance and administration.”
The report goes on to state that “there is limited oversight of IDBs’ operations”. Information submitted to Defra “is not routinely subject to detailed analysis and is not used to engage with IDBs or to trigger activity by [Defra] itself. It is not subject to any standard checks or verification for consistency with other information that is held on IDBs”.
Mary Riley
Kirk Bramwith, South Yorkshire
