§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that Ministers are under a duty to take special care to provide information that is full and accurate to Parliament and, in all their dealings with Parliament, to conduct themselves frankly and with candour; and
Whether they will amend Questions of Procedure for Ministers so as to ensure that Ministers are under a duty to take special care to provide information that is full and accurate to Parliament and, in all their dealings with Parliament, to conduct themselves frankly and with candour.
Earl HoweThe Government made clear in their responses to the Reports from the Public Service and Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration Select Committees on Ministerial Accountability and Responsibility and Open Government published on 7 November, that they attach the highest importance to the duty of Ministers to provide as full and accurate information as possible to Parliament. This point is stressed inQuestions of Procedure for Ministers, and 105WA the new Guidance to Officials on Drafting Answers to Parliamentary Questions which is reproduced below.
Never forget Ministers' obligations to Parliament which are set out in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers":
"Ministers must not knowingly mislead Parliament and the public and should correct any inadvertent errors at the earliest opportunity. They must be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, withholding information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest, which should be decided in accordance with relevant statute and the Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
"Ministers…have a duty…to give Parliament…and the public as full information as possible about the policies, decisions and actions of the Government, and not to deceive or mislead Parliament and the public."
2. It is a civil servant's responsibility to Ministers to help them fulfil those obligations. It is the Minister's right and responsibility to decide how to do so. Ministers want to explain and present Government policy and actions in a positive light. They will rightly expect a draft answer that does full justice to the Government's position.
3. Approach every question predisposed to give relevant information fully, as concisely as possible and in accordance with guidance on disproportionate cost. If there appears to be a conflict between the requirement to be as open as possible and the requirement to protect information whose disclosure would not be in the public interest, you should check to see whether it should be omitted in accordance with statute (which takes precedence) or the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, about which you should consult your departmental openness liaison officer if necessary.
5. Do not omit information sought merely because disclosure could lead to political embarrassment or administrative inconvenience.
6. Where there is a particularly fine balance between openness and non-disclosure, and when the draft answer takes the latter course, this should be explicitly drawn to the Minister's attention. Similarly, if it is proposed to reveal information of a sort which is not normally disclosed, this should be explicitly drawn to Ministers' attention.
7. If you conclude that material information must be withheld and the PQ cannot be fully answered as a result, draft an answer which makes this clear and which explains the reasons in equivalent terms to those in the Code of Practice, or because of disproportionate cost or the information not being available. Take care to avoid draft answers which are literally true but likely to give rise to misleading inferences.
§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that Ministers are under a duty not to withhold information from Parliament because it is politically inconvenient; and
106WAWhether they will amend Questions of Procedure for Ministers so as to ensure that Ministers are under a duty not to withhold information from Parliament because it is politically inconvenient to disclose such information.
Earl HoweThe Government's response to the Public Service Committee Report published on 7th November notes thatQuestions of Procedure for Ministers will be amended to read that Ministers "must be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, withholding information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest, which should be decided in accordance with relevant statute and the Government's Code of Practice on Access to Government Information".
Possible embarrassment of Ministers has never been a factor in considering whether information should be made available under the code of practice. This point has been reinforced in the Government's response to the Report from the PCA Select Committee which says: "Possible embarrassment of civil servants or Ministers has never been a factor in considering whether information should be made available under the Code of Practice. The Government agrees, however, that it could be helpful for the avoidance of doubt if this were specifically referred to in the guidance on interpretation."