Parliament: Supply of Information (Hansard, 26 February 1991)

§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Hesketh)
My Lords, it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that all information required by Parliament should be provided in the form laid down by Parliament.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, I did not hear that Answer distinctly. Has the noble Lord read last week's report of the Select Committee of another place? Paragraph 111 refers to attempts made to conceal certain important aspects of a sale agreement from the House of Commons. Paragraph 109 states that the Secretary of State should have told the full story to the commission at the time and another paragraph concludes that the House of Commons was seriously misled.
In view of those facts, would it not be correct for the Secretary of State involved to make an apology to Parliament for misleading the House or withholding information? Secondly, paragraph 74 refers to the withholding of correspondence between the DTI and the Inland Revenue. Does not the withholding of vital documents from its Select Committee diminish the authority of Parliament?

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, I am slightly surprised that the noble Lord did not table his supplementary question as the Question on the Order Paper. The noble Lord is well aware that the period of response by the Department of Trade and Industry is 60 days from publication. I am surprised that he expects me to abandon the principle of comity between the two Houses on the basis of that 60-day period, if nothing else.

§ Lord Williams of Elvel
My Lords, the other place has instituted certain procedures to determine whether or not information was withheld. Perhaps I may ask the Leader of the House what procedures he has in mind to discover whether or not this House was misled or whether information was withheld and what remedies he proposes?

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, that is well wide of the Question on the Order Paper.

§ Lord Harmar-Nicholls
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that it could be demeaning to the elected Chamber to have questioned in this House the way in which it handles its reports?

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend. He repeats a point which I made earlier in response to the supplementary question of the noble Lord, Lord Hatch.

§ Lord Jenkins of Putney
My Lords, is it not the case that my noble friend is not questioning the procedure of the other Chamber but is seeking to find out the possible outcome and the noble Lord's opinion of that? Will he not give us the benefit of that opinion?

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, it is always with the greatest respect that I come to the Dispatch Box, particularly with regard to the relationship between this House and another place. That was the purpose of my reply to the supplementary question of the noble Lord, Lord Hatch.

§ Lord Williams of Elvel
My Lords, does not the noble Lord recognise that the original Question relates to information given to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry? In the case to which I refer, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was a Member of this House. That is why I am concentrating on the procedures of this House rather than those of another place.

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, I fully appreciate the feelings of the noble Lord, Lord Williams, on this point. However, I draw his attention to the Question on the Order Paper, which in no way refers to the matter he mentions.

§ Lord Stallard
My Lords, will the Minister accept that I am seeking a reply to the Question on the Order Paper, which asks what is the Government's policy on the provision of information? The difficulty is that, when the Secretary of State happens to be a Member of your Lordships' House and is not asked to make a personal statement or apology in any shape or form 866 and cannot do so in the other place, a gap appears in the information which can be made available in response to Questions in Parliament.
The Joint Committee that was set up said, we deplore the fact that attempts were made to conceal certain important aspects of the sale". Surely a policy exists in regard to how we can obtain information about those aspects that were concealed.

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, perhaps I may refer the noble Lord, Lord Stallard, to my original Answer and to the point that I made earlier. The relationship is that between the committee of another place and the department. The department must reply to the committee within 60 days of publication of the original report. After that point it will be entirely proper.

Lord Bruce of Donington
My Lords, will the Minister make it clear to the House on behalf of Her Majesty's Government that they do not take the view that the end always justifies the means? Will they make it quite clear that, in achieving the aims desired by government, they will not tolerate anybody—whether Minister or otherwise—falling below the standard of public life that is normally expected in the United Kingdom?

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, I refer the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, back to my original reply that it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that all information required by Parliament shall be provided in a form laid down by Parliament.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, the Minister is being somewhat disingenuous. He knows perfectly well that I have asked this or a similar Question on numerous occasions arising from the fact that the noble Lord who was then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry gave certain answers in this House and I accused him of misleading Parliament. Is the Minister aware that my statement has now been substantiated in a report from another place? That does not alter my original Question. I still ask what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in regard to information from the DTI. It is now established that certain information from the DTI has not been supplied to Parliament and in certain cases Parliament has been misled. That is the issue which originated in this House, is still in this House and about which I am asking in this House.

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, I humbly suggest to the noble Lord, Lord Hatch, that, if he wishes to ask that question, which is not the Question on the Order Paper, he should formally table it.