§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officials and (b) Ministers from his Department gave evidence to Commons Select Committees in each of the Sessions (i) 1983–84 and (ii) 1984–85.
§ Mr. YoungerThe number of Ministers and officials from my Department who gave evidence to Commons Select Committees in the 1983–84 Session was three and 82 respectively. The corresponding figures for the 1984–85 Session were two and 63. In both Sessions a number of witnesses gave evidence on more than one occasion and the figures for official witnesses include members of the armed forces.