§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what will be the inter-relationship between(a) Ministers and private sector lawyers, (b) hon. Members, (c) Government Whips and (d) Select Committees in respect of the contracting out of the drafting of Treasury legislation;
(2) what measures he will take to prevent legal firms operating at below-cost prices to acquire contracts to draft Treasury legislation;
(3) what safeguards will apply (a) for ensuring security on Budget details and forecasts and (b) for ensuring standards of confidentiality and propriety in respect of the Finance Bill following the contracting out of the drafting of Treasury legislation;
(4) if the costs of trial contracting out of Treasury legislation will appear as (a) running costs or (b) programme costs; how such costs will be shown when there are changes of dates in respect of policy; and how such costs will be controlled when there is a change in drafting instructions;
(5) which parts of the Finance Bill he plans to contract out and what plans he has for other forms of financial legislation to be contracted out;
(6) what are the criteria by which the success of the exercise in contracting out the drafting of Treasury legislation will he judged; who will assess the success of 464W the exercise; and what quality controls there will be in respect of the drafting of the legislation;
(7) what proportion of contracted-out Treasury legislation will comprise (a) primary legislation and (b) secondary legislation;
(8) what proposals he has to market test (a) market-sensitive and (b) non-market-sensitive Treasury legislation;
(9) what discussions he has had with (a) the Law Society and (b) the Bar Council in respect of the contracting out of the drafting of Treasury legislation;
(10) what will be the relationship between those in the private sector instructed by him and advisers from the Inland Revenue in respect of the contracting out of the drafting of Treasury legislation;
(11) what have been the costs for each of the last five years for drafting legislation in his Department;
(12) how many staff in his Department and at what grade are engaged in drafting legislation;
(13) what are the total annual wages and salary costs in his Department in respect of those engaged in drafting Treasury legislation;
(14) what proposals he has (a) to market-test, (b) to go to outside contractors without market testing and (c) to employ outside contractors as civil servants on short-term contracts in respect of the contracting out of the drafting of Treasury legislation;
(15) if he will list (a) his proposals for quality assurance, (b) his proposed methods for testing this assurance and (c) his proposed penalties for (i) under performance and (ii) loss of revenue as a result of inadequate drafting in respect of the contracting out of the Treasury legislation;
(16) what guarantees his Department will demand of private sector lawyers engaged in the drafting of Treasury legislation to ensure that they do not have any dealings with clients on issues relating to their work for his Department; and what safeguards he will impose to prevent conflicts of interest arising between these lawyers and (i) past and (ii) prospective clients;
(17) what measures he will take to ensure that there is public confidence in the contracted-out Treasury legislation in respect of potential conflicts of interest between those employed to draft legislation for the Government who are also advising private clients.
§ Sir George YoungMy right hon. and learned Friend's plans to involve the private sector in drafting legislation for Treasury Ministers are as follows:
Present practice is that most primary legislation in the areas of responsibility which fall to Treasury Ministers is drafted by Parliamentary Counsel. Officials in the Chancellor's Departments provide Parliamentary Counsel with instructions from which legislation is drafted, but none of the Chancellor's Department employs staff who themselves draft primary legislation.
There have been occasions in the past where lawyers outside Parliamentary Counsel have been engaged in the drafting of primary legislation. My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is now setting up a pilot project to gain further experience of using the private sector in this area. Potential benefits could include: reducing time pressures caused by the volume of work facing existing draftsmen; widening the range of talent available to departments; bringing relevant specialist 465W skills into the drafting process, and providing fresh thinking as to how our laws should be drafted.
The pilot scheme will cover some aspects of the 1996 Finance Bill, and possibly also some secondary legislation.
Treasury Ministers are still considering exactly which topics will be chosen for the pilot, but the bulk of the 1996 Finance Bill will continue to be drafted by Parliamentary Counsel in the usual way. Once the topics are selected, the contract or contracts will be let through competitive tender.
Before the contract or contracts are signed, Treasury Ministers will need to satisfy themselves that the contractors chosen will be capable of doing the job well, that sensible financial arrangements are made, that adequate security measures are in place to protect classified information, and that potential conflicts of interest are avoided.
The intention is that Inland Revenue and customs officials will deal directly with the contractors in much the same way as they deal with Parliamentary Counsel. It will be for the Revenue departments to give instructions to the contractors and for those departments to satisfy themselves that the draft legislation that is produced is of a satisfactory standard.
Parliamentary Counsel will be responsible for the rest of the Finance Bill and for ensuring that the clauses and schedules drafted by the contractors are fitted into the Bill in the appropriate place.
When the legislation comes before Parliament, Ministers will look to the contractors, working on instructions from officials, to draw up any Government amendments that are necessary, and to provide advice, for example, on the implications of any other amendments that are tabled. Contractors will be judged on the full range of services they provide.
The fact that part of the Bill will have been drafted by private sector lawyers will not affect the relationships between Ministers and the House or Committees of it.
The experiment will be closely monitored and will be subject to a full evaluation to consider the quality of drafting, other advice, whether timetables were met, security issues, and cost. The analysis of the cost will cover not only the fees for the pilot project, but also an assessment of any differential burden on Revenue department officials compared with using parliamentary counsel. One of the purposes of the pilot will be to look at the overall resources employed .by the contractors on the project to improve our understanding of the costs to the private sector of drafting legislation.
The costs of the pilot will fall on departments' running costs. If necessary, the terms of the contract will deal with the possibility of late changes in policy or drafting instructions.