§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2002,Official Report, column 655W, on the Snagge report, if the report was produced using his Department's facilities; to whom it was submitted; when he took a decision on its publication; and if he will make a statement on his policy with regard to the publishing of unsolicited reports which he regards as (a) misleading and (b) accurate. [44257]
§ Mr. IngramThe report written by Colonel C. E. M. Snagge, although unsolicited from the then 2 Division based in York, was an official, internal document submitted to Headquarters Land Command. As such it was taken into account when the future location of the divisional headquarters was being considered. As I said in my answer on 11 March 2002,Official Report, column 655W, however, the report contained partial opinion. A 552W balanced view, setting out the rationale for the decision, was set out in the Consultation Document "Land Command Restructuring of Divisions/Districts" which was issued to trade union representatives on 30 October 1998. A copy of this report will be placed in the Library of the House.
Ministry of Defence policy on the release of information follows the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The decision to withhold Colonel Snagge's report was taken in accordance with Exemption 2 of the Code, which relates to internal discussion and advice, when I answered the hon. Member's question on 28 February 2002, Official Report, column 146W.