§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the light of the Performance and Innovation Unit's report Privacy and data-sharing: The way forward for public services (April 2002), they will publish the Ram doctrine. [HL595]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)The Ram doctrine, which is set out in a memorandum dated 2 November 1945 from the then First. Parliamentary Counsel, Granville Ram, states that a Minister of the Crown may exercise any powers that the Crown has power to exercise, except in so far as the Minister is 99WA precluded by statute from so doing, either expressly or by necessary implication. Generally, legally privileged advice to government is not disclosed but, given the age of the advice, we are content to do so in this case and the text of the memorandum has been made available in the Library.