§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place a copy of the minutes of the 19 March Justice and Home Affairs Council on new openness measures in the Library. [54949]
§ Mr. StrawThe openness measures agreed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 19 March did not extend to Council minutes, which are not made publicly available in the interests of protecting the confidentiality of Council proceedings. But I reported on the outcome of the meeting in the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) on 8 April 1998,Official Report, columns 256–67. The openness measures which were under discussion by the Justice and Home Affairs Council are set out in Council document 6407/98 (JAI 6), a copy of which was placed in the Library following the Council meeting.