Government Publications: Cost and Style (Hansard, 14 January 2001)

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, the inclusion of indexes and contents pages is a matter of good practice, but speed of production often prevents their inclusion. HMSO provides guidance to departments on publication of Command Papers and advises that colour printing or anything that significantly adds to costs should be used only when the improvement in presentation can be justified.

§ Lord Phillips of Sudbury
My Lords, the Minister was frugal in his response. He is, I think, aware of the fact that the vast majority of reports carry no index.
833 Does he appreciate that the recently published Auld report, A Review of the Criminal Courts, is published as a public consultation document? Is he further aware that it is 783 pages long, that it has no index and that it costs £42.50? Is that not a completely self-defeating state of affairs if one really wants to consult the public? Is it beyond the wit of government to issue with every such report a summary leaflet such as accompanies the Budget report?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I believe that the noble Lord and I have done our extensive researches in the Printed Paper Office. I have also looked at the Auld report; it is, if I may correct the noble Lord, 686 pages long. It is a weighty tome but it is on a website. Some 4,500 copies of A Review of the Criminal Courts have been printed. The uptake of the report is high. I am told that it is likely to be reprinted as it is so popular, although, I hasten to add, it is not popular in all quarters. A summary of the document is widely available. We take the point that is made.
I draw the noble Lord's attention to another important publication to which I have referred, How to Publish a Command Paper, produced by the Cabinet Office which has a "top 10 tips" in note form and a helpful index at the back. I have requested that the reprint of the document we are discussing should draw attention to the necessary good practice of including indexes, where appropriate, in all government publications.

§ Lord Lipsey
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that rather than worrying about the cost of government documents we should spend a little more on parliamentary documents which look—although this is not always the case—as if they are unreadable?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I cannot possibly agree that all parliamentary documents are unreadable. However, I understand the point that the noble Lord makes. It is for the Government at all times to pay close attention to making sure that documents are produced and printed in an accessible form. That is exactly what the Government have done and that is why the good practice guide exists. If those guidelines are followed carefully, the quality of publications will continue to improve over time.

Lord Renton
My Lords, although I support the views of the noble Lord, Lord Phillips of Sudbury, why is it that many government White Papers are no longer white, but, like the Auld report, are red, or some other near-red colour?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I read many White Papers—perhaps that makes me a rather sad character—and what has impressed me, and perhaps other Members of your Lordships' House, over the past few years is the fact that they are produced in an attractive, readable and accessible form. That is what 834 we in government should try to achieve. They may not all be coloured white, but they are certainly published in clear print.

Lord Acton
My Lords, is my noble friend aware—I am sure that he is not—that when I am in the United States I spend a lot of time reading newspapers on the Internet? Following his reply to the noble Lord, Lord Phillips of Sudbury, is he also aware that the idea of trying to read a 686-page document—I think I have that right—on the Internet without an index is a daunting task?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I confess that I have never tried to read a 686-page document on the Internet. I suspect that I should be rather boggle-eyed if I managed to achieve that objective. The noble Lord makes a perfectly reasonable point.

§ Lord Avebury
My Lords, is the document the noble Lord mentioned published on the Internet in word format which is searchable and where therefore it is not so necessary to have an index, or, like so many documents which the Government put on the web these days, is it in PDF format which makes it impossible for the user to search?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I have searched through my extensive briefing but I am afraid that that precise point eludes me. However, as I and other Ministers often say, I shall write to the noble Lord.

§ Lord Saatchi
My Lords, does the Minister recall that his noble and learned friend Lord Falconer explained the merit of the Government's annual report to the people when he said that it was a means of focusing on what the Government had achieved during the year? What was the reason, therefore, for cancelling publication of the report for last year?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I presume that the Government quite rightly decided that it was best to provide the information in other formats. No doubt, much of the information can be found on the Internet.

§ Lord Campbell-Savours
My Lords, is it too late to add the index about which everyone has talked?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I must confess that I asked advisers that question when I was being briefed on the Question as I thought that it might be asked. That is not an unreasonable request. However, given that we are discussing a consultation document and there are tight timetables for consultation, I suspect that that is probably unlikely to occur. However, I am happy to forward that sensible suggestion to the Lord Chancellor's Department.

§ Lord McNally
My Lords, to return to the matter of the annual report, does not the Minister agree that the publication of the annual report by the Government was a flagrant abuse of public funds for party political
835 reasons? Will he assure us that its disappearance is now permanent and that such abuses will not occur in the future?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I cannot possibly commit the Government to decisions on such matters as annual reports for future years. I cannot possibly agree that it was a flagrant abuse for party political purposes. I believe that it was a useful exercise designed to inform the public of the progress of government policy. Many people read the document and it was widely circulated. I believe that the record speaks for itself.