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DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Deregulation

11. Mr. Flynn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effects of the Government's deregulation policies on safety at work. [1310]

Mr. Freeman: Changes are being made which will simplify and clarify the law without reducing necessary standards. These stem from the Health and Safety Commission's own review of regulation.

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13. Mr. Skinner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with other Ministers regarding deregulation. [1312]

Mr. Freeman: The Deputy Prime Minister meets regularly with ministerial colleagues to discuss the progress of the deregulation initiative.

Small Businesses

12. Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the EU directives and regulations implemented in the parliamentary Session 1995-96 which have contributed to a diminution of the regulatory burdens of small businesses in Britain. [1311]

Mr. Freeman: I share my hon. Friend's concern about the potential burdens that new regulations can place on small businesses. This is a message I continue to emphasise to the European Commission and to colleagues in other member states.

I am pleased to note the recent announcement that the number of new proposals for legislation from the Commission has fallen yet again, from 48 in 1993 to just 16 for 1997.

Debts (Late Payment)

14. Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received relating to Government policy on the late payment of debts. [1313]

18. Mr. Ainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the presentation of Government policy with particular reference to the impact of late payment of debt on British companies' competitiveness. [1318]

Mr. Freeman: The Government have actively sought views on late payment, through specific consultation and through the your business matters series of conferences. We are taking these views into account in determining the best way forward.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

15. Mr. Brian David Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the change since 1992 in the proportion of public budgets administered by non-departmental public bodies. [1314]

Mr. Willetts: The proportion of general government expenditure administered by NDPBs in 1991-92 was 4.4 per cent., and in 1994-95 it was 6 per cent. This was primarily due to increased programme expenditure made through a small number of such bodies providing important public services, like the Legal Aid Board, Housing Corporation and higher and further education funding councils.

16. Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on non-departmental public bodies. [1315]

Mr. Willetts: The Government continue to reduce the number of non-departmental public bodies and improve the efficiency of those that remain.

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Civil Service

17. Mr. John Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people are currently employed in the civil service. [1317]

22. Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people are currently employed in the civil service. [1325]

Mr. Willetts: In 1979, when we came to office, there were 735,000 civil servants. There are now 492,000: a fall of 33 per cent.

Government Openness

19. Mr. Hanson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what new initiatives he plans to take to increase the openness of central Government. [1319]

Mr. Freeman: I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) earlier today.

Public Bodies

20. Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the responses received to the consultation paper published by his Department on propriety and accountability issues in public bodies. [1322]

Mr. Willetts: We shall announce our conclusions in a White Paper early next year.

Government Policies

21. Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his role in co-ordinating Government policies. [1324]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I chair the ministerial committee on the co-ordination and presentation of Government policy and work with my colleagues to build on this Government's unprecedented record in improving competitiveness and achieving economic success.

Information Technology Projects

Ms Church: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how many information technology projects in the Office of Public Service have been undertaken since 1992 and are planned for the coming year, in cost bands of £1,000,000, starting at £0 to £1,000,000; [1900]

(2) to ask the Minister without Portfolio how many information technology projects have been undertaken at his office since his appointment. [2030]

Mr. Willetts [holding answer 7 November 1996]: For these purposes, my answer includes 10 Downing street and the office of my right hon. Friend the Minister without Portfolio. It includes details of expenditure on information technology projects incurred since 1992 by the Cabinet Office, the Office of Public Service and Science and its successor from July 1995, the Office of Public Service, and their agencies.

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The numbers of information technology projects undertaken since 1992 in cost bands of £1,000,000, are as follows:

£0 to £1,000,000 = 98
£1,000,000 to £2,000,000 = 5
£2,000,000 to £3,000,000 = 1
£3,000,000 to £4,000,000 = 1

Seven projects, all of value less than £1,000,000 are presently planned for 1997-98.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster under what circumstances his Department issues central guidance to other Departments answering parliamentary questions; what changes there have been to this guidance in the past year; and if he will make a statement. [2927]

Mr. Freeman: My Department issued "Guidance to Officials on Drafting Answers to Parliamentary Questions" earlier this month. This new guidance, which takes account of helpful comments made by the Public Service Committee on an earlier draft, is as follows:

1. Never forget Ministers' obligations to Parliament which are set out in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers":
"Ministers must not knowingly mislead Parliament and the public and should correct any inadvertent errors at the earliest opportunity. They must be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, withholding information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest, which should be decided in accordance with relevant statute and the Government's "Code of Practice on Access to Government Information."
"Ministers . . . have a duty . . . to give Parliament . . . and the public as full information as possible about the policies, decisions and actions of the Government, and not to deceive or mislead Parliament and the public."
2. It is a civil servant's responsibility to Ministers to help them fulfil those obligations. It is the Minister's right and responsibility to decide how to do so. Ministers want to explain and present Government policy and actions in a positive light. They will rightly expect a draft answer that does full justice to the Government's position.
3. Approach every question predisposed to give relevant information fully, as concisely as possible and in accordance with guidance on disproportionate cost. If there appears to be a conflict between the requirement to be as open as possible and the requirement to protect information whose disclosure would not be in the public interest, you should check to see whether it should be omitted in accordance with statute (which takes precedence) or the "Code of Practice on Access to Government Information", about which you should consult your departmental openness liaison officer if necessary.
4. Do not omit information sought merely because disclosure could lead to political embarrassment or administrative inconvenience.
5. Where there is a particularly fine balance between openness and non-disclosure, and when the draft answer takes the latter course, this should be explicitly drawn to the Minister's attention. Similarly, if it is proposed to reveal information of a sort which is not normally disclosed, this should be explicitly drawn to Ministers' attention.
6. If you conclude that material information must be withheld and the PQ cannot be fully answered as a result, draft an answer which makes this clear and which explains the reasons in equivalent terms to those in the Code of Practice, or because of disproportionate cost or the information not being available. Take care to avoid draft answers which are literally true but likely to give rise to misleading inferences.

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