Mr. Robert G. HughesTo ask the Prime Minister when he expects to receive the second report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life; and if he will make a statement. [30147]
§ The Prime MinisterThe second report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, under the chairmanship of Lord Nolan, is being published today as Command Paper 3270 and copies of the report have been placed in the Vote Office and the Library of the House. I should like to thank Lord Nolan and his colleagues for their continuing commitment and effort in discharging their important remit.
The second report covers further and higher education bodies, grant-maintained schools, training and enterprise councils, local enterprise companies and registered housing associations. I welcome the fact that the committee found these to be
organisations in which very many voluntary Board members and paid staff work hard, maintain high standards and achieve good results.".I should like to join Lord Nolan and his colleagues in putting on record the Government's appreciation and admiration of the dedicated unpaid service of so many thousands of volunteers in these local public spending bodies. This inquiry confirms the continuing vitality of voluntary service as one of the great strengths of the British system. This voluntary local commitment, channelled through a clear policy framework set by central Government, provides a successful formula for delivering high-quality service to meet local needs.
Naturally, the committee has identified some areas where it believes that improvements can be made and we shall now give the report the close study it deserves before making a considered response, particularly to those recommendations which are addressed directly on the Government.