Ministers 'pressured' spending watchdog to tone down criticisms

Ministers were accused yesterday of trying to "nobble" the Audit Commission, the independent spending watchdog, by asking it to tone down criticism of the Government.

There is growing tension between the Government and the commission over what ministers claim is premature criticism of their plans to improve public services. Ministers claim the commission should give the reforms time to "bed down" before rushing to judgement. One ministerial aide admitted: "We wish the com- mission would go away for three years and then assess what we have delivered."

But sources at the commission accused the Government of putting it under pressure to alter some draft reports before publication. The Government asked the commission to rewrite its performance ratings for the 150 largest local authorities in England and Wales before they were published last December. Ministers were worried some councils with poor schools were to be judged "good" authorities overall. The commission did not comply.

Whitehall departments also challenged a report by the commission last month, which said the private finance initiative (PFI) had failed to deliver cheaper or better schools or ensure they were built more quickly. Ministers said the study was out of date because it covered early PFI projects.

Another area of tension is the National Health Service, on which the commission's reports have also embarrassed Labour. In December, the commission claimed one in three NHS trusts was deliberately distorting its waiting lists.

Yesterday Sir Andrew Foster, the outgoing controller of the commission, warned that NHS workers were in danger of becoming "slightly punch drunk" from the "sheer mass" of structural changes. He said: "People become preoccupied with establishing them [new institutions] and politicians then become impatient, and before you know it there are calls for further change."