Government Secrecy (Hansard, 18 May 1992)

§ 35. Mr. David Nicholson
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria he will employ in reviewing levels of secrecy required in government.

§ Mr. Waldegrave
Our presumption will be that information should be released, unless there are pressing interest reasons for secrecy.

§ Mr. Nicholson
As an occasional historian and a former civil servant, I welcome these initiatives that come under the citizens charter—in particular the announcement last week by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary about documents not disclosed under the 30-year rule and the statement today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy about Cabinet secrecy. Is he aware that this should be a first step and that in particular further attention should be paid to information regarding public health and safety?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
I welcome my right hon. Friend's comments. I believe that there is room for very great progress. There are, of course, real secrets and they must be guarded properly. However, in the past, secrecy has been used, I think the House will agree, for reasons that the House does not want to see operate in future.

§ Mr. Campbell-Savours
May I have an honest, considered response to my question? When reviewing levels of secrecy, is the Minister getting any response from civil servants in any of these Departments? When it comes specifically to evaluation reports produced for the Overseas Development Administration, can the Minister ask the ODA why it refused to publish the preliminary draft reports? Will he ensure that they are published in future, even if it means that civil servants object?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
On the latter point, I shall ask a number of questions around Whitehall, to which I shall add the hon. Member's question. On the former point, which is more fundamental, I do not believe that it is sensible nowadays to think of the civil service, or of the many thousands of civil servants, as holding different views from the rest of the community. Many civil servants know that traditional practices need to be brought up to date. In that regard, I am finding many allies, as well as some scepticism with which to contend.