§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how he will monitor the Government's commitment to openness in Government Departments. [615]
§ Mr. WillsThe Government report to Parliament annually on the operation of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which is the current regime governing access to information held by Government Departments and many non-departmental public bodies.
My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor expects to publish the Monitoring Report on the Code of Practice for the year 2000 shortly. This report includes information about the number of Code requests received, the speed with which they are dealt and the number of refusals made.
The Government have demonstrated their strong commitment to openness in the public sector through the passing of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The 46W Lord Chancellor is required under the provisions of the Act to report to Parliament on the progress made towards implementation of the Act, before 30 November 2001.
The Freedom of Information Act applies to a very wide range of bodies, over 50,000 across the public sector, going well beyond the scope of the Code of Practice. The Government are discussing with the Information Commissioner what is the best way of ensuring that the rigorous monitoring of the Code of Practice is retained when the provisions of the Act replace the Code and extending the monitoring to all of the bodies covered by the Act.