§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2002, ref. 38529, on the Snagge report, for what reason he will not publish Colonel Snagge's report "The Command Structure in the United Kingdom"; and if he will discuss this with the Open Government Task Force. [40971]
§ Mr. IngramThe "Snagge Report" was an unsolicited piece of work by the Chief of Staff of the Division then based in York. It argued for keeping the headquarters of 2 Division in York and, as such, provided a very one-sided opinion. It did not represent a balanced Army view, and its publication would be highly misleading. For these reasons, I decided not to release it.
The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information makes no requirement to consult before making a decision to withhold information under an exemption.