HC Deb 10 March 1999 vol 327 c280W
Mr. Maclean

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if(a) he, (b) civil servants in his Department or (c) special advisers in his Department have (i) had sight of drafts of select committee reports, in whole or in part, or (ii) been informed of conclusions of select committee reports prior to their publication by the select committees. [75870]

Mr. Straw

Apart from the transcripts of evidence given by Ministers and officials, and embargoed copies of reports supplied in the normal way by Select Committees under House of Commons Standing Orders, there have been no instances of members of Select Committees giving me drafts of Select Committee reports, or of parts of reports including their conclusions, before publication. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, have there been any occasions on which members of Select Committees have given such material to civil servants or special advisers in my Department.

Forward to