Freedom of Information (Hansard, 21 October 1998)

§ Mr. Peter Bradley
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made with the proposed freedom of information legislation. [54734]

§ Mr. Connarty
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans for freedom of information legislation. [54719]

§ Mr. Dalyell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress with the freedom of information legislation. [54714]

§ Mr. Fabricant
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to promote open Government. [54738]

§ Mr. Harvey
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to introduce legislation on freedom of information. [54721]

§ Mr. Robathan
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made with his Department's open Government initiatives. [54739]

§ Mr. John Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to bring forward legislation for a Freedom of Information Act. [54724]

§ Dr. George Turner
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's current timetable for implementation of freedom of information legislation. [54717]

§ Mr. Straw
The Government are committed to the introduction of a Freedom of Information Act as part of their programme for constitutional reform, which aims to modernise British politics and bring Government closer to the people.
We published our proposals for a Freedom of Information Act in a White Paper "Your Right to Know" in December 1997. We made a commitment in that White Paper to publish a draft Bill for consultation. Work is well in hand on this and it will be published early in the new year.
Following consultation on the draft Bill and pre-legislative scrutiny by the Select Committee on Public Administration, I intend to introduce the Bill to Parliament as soon as the legislative programme allows.

§ Mr. Healey
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on plans to introduce a Bill to establish freedom of information. [54736]

§ Mr. Straw
In the period 1 August-9 October, I received 281 representations about the Government's plans for a Freedom of Information Bill. These were generally supportive of our plans, but the majority sought further information about the timetable for the Bill. I have also met my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) to discuss our plans and intend to discuss them further with other interested parties and individuals over the coming weeks.

§ Mr. McAllion
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on how the proposed freedom of information legislation will apply to the Scottish Parliament. [54727]
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§ Mr. Straw
It will be for the Scottish Parliament to determine the approach of the Scottish Executive and other public bodies to openness and freedom of information within areas of devolved competence. Reserved matters would be subject to the proposed United Kingdom Freedom of Information Act.