§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list meetings between(a) Department Ministers and (b) senior departmental officials and representatives of Ispat International between May 1997 and December 2001, indicating the date of each meeting. [33115]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 4 February 2002]: Ministers, special advisers and officials in my Department regularly meet a wide range of representatives from business. However, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's reply of 19 November 2001 Official Report, column 102W makes clear, it is not normal practice to release details of meetings or discussions with private individuals or companies
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meetings were held between her Department and representatives of LNM/Ispat International since May 1997. [36739]
§ Ms HewittMinisters and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and analysis. All such contacts are conducted in accordance526W with the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code and Guidance for Civil Servants: Contacts with Lobbyists. Some of these discussions take place on a confidential basis, and in order to preserve confidentiality, it is not the normal practice of Governments to release specific details of specific meetings with private individuals or companies.