§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many copies of the document deposited in the Vote Office of the House entitled "Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill—An Explanatory Guide" were printed; where else it was sent or made available; what information this document contained which was not also printed as part of the explanatory and financial memorandum on the face of the Bill; why this guide contained no source of authorisation, date, printer, publisher, or official catalogue number; and by whom and for what reason it was authorised for publication.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonSince publication of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill, the document "Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill—An Explanatory Guide" has been available in the Vote Office and from the Department.
Approximately 4,000 copies of the document were made. Of these, approximately 3,500 have been distributed. Approximately 500 were made available in the Vote Office. The remainder were given, after the Bill was 233W published, to the press and to individuals and organisations known to have an interest in the Bill, or have been given, on request, to members of the public, consumer and business organisations.
It is normal practice to publish such a document for long or complex Bills. The document contained a fuller explanation of the provisions of the Bill than the explanatory and financial memorandum, giving background information which would not have been appropriate for inclusion in the EFM, such as the Government's proposals for parliamentary scrutiny of orders made under chapter 1 of the Bill. The source and date of the document were omitted by an oversight. However, all copies distributed, other than through the Vote Office, were accompanied by material which made clear the source of the document.