HC Deb 09 March 1994 vol 239 cc255-6W
Mr. Gunnell

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place a copy of the "Permanent Secretary's Handbook" in the Library.

Mr. Waldegrave

No. The handbook referred to is a compendium of guidance and other documents which heads of departments and others with similar responsibilities find useful to have collected together. Much of the material in it is already in the public domain—for example, "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", the "Armstrong Memorandum" on the duties and responsibilities of civil servants, the memorandum of guidance for officials appearing before Select Committees, guidance on Government publicity and advertising, the "Radcliffe Rules" on ministerial memoirs, and guidance on access by Ministers to documents of a previous Administration. Other material, for example on security and vetting procedures, is justifiably confidential.