§ Mr. LilleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list occasions on which his Department has conducted an inquiry into alleged leaks from members of staff since 1997; and if he will list the occasions on which the names of those persons accused of leaking information from his Department have been made public(a) by the Government and (b) by way of another source. [146942]
§ Ms Rosie Winterton[holding answer 12 January 2004]: Since 1997 the department has investigated 37 suspected leaks. In line with exemptions 1(a) and 7(b) set out in Part II of the "Code of Practice" on access to "Government Information", it has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on the outcome of such inquiries in order to safeguard security and investigative arrangements. Other than cases where legal action has been taken we are not aware of any cases where names have been made public.