Government Information (Hansard, 18 October 1993)

§ Mr. Spearing
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the application of the first objective of the draft code of practice on government information on page 72 of his recent publication "Open Government" (Cm 2290) to the proposals contained in the European Union (Public Information) Bill.

§ Mr. Waldegrave
The commitments to extend publication and availability of government information in the White Paper on open government, Cm 2290, do not require that information should be sent to every household in the country, which is a central purpose of the European Union (Public Information) Bill.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the commitment to receipt of information in confidence, set out in paragraph XIV of part II of the draft code of practice on government information published in his White Paper on open government (Cm 2290), refers solely to a commitment entered into in writing.

§ Mr. Waldegrave
No.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give examples of the kind of information disclosure of which would increase the likelihood of damage to the environment, which would be exempted from disclosure under the draft code of practice on government information, included in his White Paper on open government (Cm 2290).

§ Mr. Waldegrave
There is a similar exemption in the Environmental Information Regulations 1992, which is based in turn on article 3 of EC directive 90/313/EC. Guidance notes issues in December 1992 by the Department of the Environment give the following examples of possible harmIn some cases the dissemination of environmental information could in fact harm or pollute the environment. For example, information about the location of nesting sites, rare habitats or endangered/protected species should be withheld to avoid the risk of damage. And information about possible Sites of Special Scientific Interest should not be made available until a formal notice is served; making information available prematurely could run the risk of preemptive damage being caused to the site before it was protected. Bodies will need to exercise careful judgement when restricting information in this way.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the criteria adopted to judge governmental information or records whose sensitivity is such that no date can be put on their potential release, to which reference is made at paragraph 9.23 of his White Paper on open government (Cm 2290).
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§ Mr. Waldegrave
The criteria adopted in respect of records whose sensitivity is such that no date can be put on their potential release are, first, that they are required by the Department either because they are in use or are awaiting review and, secondly, that they fall into one or other of the categories listed in paragraph 9.23 of the White Paper on open government (Cm 2290) for which the Lord Chancellor has given "blanket" approval to retain under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958. Individual records may also be retained under this section if they meet the first criterion for extended closure under section 5(1)—exceptionally sensitive records containing information, the disclosure of which would not be in the public interest—but the date on which the sensitivity is likely to pass is not known.
Although no date can be put on their potential release, such records are subject to regular review—at least every 10 years—and they are subject to the test of actual damage caused by release; when the sensitivity has passed, the records will be released.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the exemption of information under section XV of part II of his draft code of practice on government information contained in his White Paper on open government (Cm 2290) will include information which cannot be sought in a parliamentary question arising from precedent created by Ministers to block acceptance of all questions that fall within certain categories; and how members of the public are to be informed as to which information cannot be sought in a parliamentary question.

§ Mr. Waldegrave
The code of practice is not intended to make information available to the public which could not normally be obtained by hon. Members. Matters on which Ministers have refused to answer questions will often be covered by a specific exemption, and in some cases difficulties may be avoided by addressing the question correctly—for example, to a public body rather than to a Minister who would not normally answer questions on matters within the day-to-day responsibility of an independent public body. When information is refused under the code of practice, reasons will be given including any exemption considered relevant.