§ Mr. DuncanTo ask the Prime Minister what initiatives the Government has taken since November 1990 on open government and accountability.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Government launched the citizens charter in July 1991. Information and openness are among its central principles.
1098WThe membership and terms of reference of ministerial Cabinet committees were published in May 1992, along with "Questions of Procedure for Ministers".
In May 1992, I avowed for the first time the continuing existence of the secret intelligence service and named its chief. The Intelligence Services Act, which received royal assent in May 1994, puts both Government communications headquarters and the secret intelligence service on a statutory footing. A statutory oversight committee of parliamentarians for the security and intelligence services was also provided for.
The White paper on open government, published in July 1993, proposed the following measures:
- A code of practice on access to government information.
- Statutory access rights to personal records and health and safety information.
- Greater openness in access to public records.
The code of practice came into force in April 1994, providing for:
- Information to be volunteered by Government, such as facts and analysis with the policy decisions, and internal guidelines on dealing with the public.
- Government information to be released in response to specific requests.
- Reasons to be provided for administrative decisions.
- Enforcement by the Parliamentary Ombudsman, at no cost to the applicant.
A similar code of practice, covering the national health service, is currently the subject of consultation.
Over 24,000 records have been released since the open government initiatives began. These include almost 4,000 pieces of the intelligence material shown to Winston Churchill during the war—the so-called "Dir C Archive"; 840 pieces from the Special Operations Executive archive relating to SOE activities in the far east, Scandinavia, the middle east and Africa; previously withheld wartime Cabinet minutes; Admiralty intelligence papers; and War Office papers relating to the interrogation of prisoners-of-war.
A code of conduct has been issued to national health service boards, emphasising that high standards of corporate conduct and probity are at the heart of the NHS. Public registers of interests have been established.
A similar Treasury code of best practice for board members of other public bodies has also been promulgated. It recommends that all boards should establish a register of board members' interests.
As I announced to the House on 20 October, Official Report, column 421, a review of the system of appointments to public bodies is currently being carried out. The conclusions of the review will be made public, and will also be made available to the Nolan committee.