Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Deferred
Ensure timely, transparent publication of documents, followed by oral statements for parliamentary scrutiny
Recommendation
In the examples cited, we do not agree that the publication of associated documents ahead of statements met the expectations of the general principle of the Code. However, subject to the Government making proper attempts to be open and transparent with Members, preferably through the timely and proper use of written ministerial statements, and to refrain from substantive prior trailing of the contents of these documents in the media, we accept that the general principle could be met through this route, however we would expect an oral statement to follow within a reasonable timeframe to provide Members with an appropriate opportunity to question Ministers. At all times we would expect the Government to follow the ‘Parliament first’ principle. (Conclusion, Paragraph 56)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government welcomes the recognition of timely document publication but does not commit to a follow-up oral statement. Instead, it defers to the House and Procedure Committee to explore whether current notice requirements for written ministerial statements can be made more flexible.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The Government welcomes the Committee’s recognition that the timely publication of documents and the use of written ministerial statements are an important means for keeping the House updated. However, as noted above, it is not always possible to notify the House of the most important announcements first, for example where the Government is responding to events during recess. On such occasions the Government remains committed to ensuring that the details of announcements are made available to the House at the earliest opportunity, including through written ministerial statements.
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