§ Q11. Mr. Michael Footasked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement on the nature of the restrictions imposed by the Civil Service on access to information in Ministerial Departments by incoming Ministers of a new Government; when these rules were first applied; whether they have been altered in recent years; and whether they have been submitted to Parliament for approval.
§ The Prime MinisterIt is an established convention of our system of administration that incoming Ministers do not have access to documents indicating the views expressed by their predecessors of a different party. This convention has been operated unchanged and acceptably for many years by successive Administrations.