§ Lord Colnbrookasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proposals they have for greater openness in the machinery of central government.
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Wakeham)My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has decided that, in the interests of greater openness about the machinery of government, it would be appropriate to publish the memorandum of guidance circulated to Ministers asQuestions of Procedure for Ministers and the names and membership of the standing Ministerial Committees, Sub-Committees and Working Groups.
Accordingly, Questions of Procedure for Ministers has been placed in the Library of the House.
The names and membership of standing Ministerial Committees, Sub-Committees and Working Groups are set out below. In addition to the members, other Ministers are invited to attend meetings as and when the business requires.
The publication of this information goes a long way beyond anything published by previous governments about central machinery.