HC Deb 18 November 1998 vol 319 c616W
Mr. Jack

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to promote the greater use of the code on open government. [58927]

Mr. Straw

All Government Department, agencies and public bodies under the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration are committed to providing information in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. I will publish the annual monitoring report on the operation of the Code of Practice next spring. Those bodies covered by the Code have been encouraged to make full use of the discretion available under the Code of Practice to disclose as much information as possible in the period before a Freedom of Information Act comes into force.