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Freedom of Information
3. Mrs. Mahon: What representations he has received from other Governments on his proposals for a freedom of information Act. [25358]
Dr. David Clark: I have received letters from the Australian Solicitor-General, as well as from the Information Commissioners for Canada and British Columbia, and the Chief Ombudsman of New Zealand. These variously describe our proposals as "exhilarating", "cutting edge" and including the "best of best practice".
Mrs. Mahon: I am glad that my right hon. Friend's proposals for a radical freedom of information Act have been so well received abroad. More information will change the culture of government in this country. Can he assure the House that, as he builds on the White Paper, the Act itself, as it goes through the House, will be progressive and open?
Dr. Clark: The consultation period is still progressing and closes at the end of this month. I am very pleased with the response so far. It is important to make it clear that "Your Right to Know" is a statement of the Government's intention, agreed by the Cabinet Committee and endorsed by the full Cabinet. Although there are several areas that we indicated had green edges, I do not envisage any major changes to the spirit or the substance of the White Paper. I am confident that the Bill will be a radical, progressive and landmark piece of legislation, and that it will, as my hon. Friend says, change the political culture of Britain.
Dr. Julian Lewis: At a time when other countries are opening up their cold war files to public inspection and to inspection by historians, what does the right hon. Gentleman think of the fact that in this country, the Security Service is apparently about to engage in the mass destruction of cold war files, in part at the behest of the Minister without Portfolio, who is worried about his own?
Dr. Clark: I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we have progressively been releasing documents from our security services over recent years. We have already done so in relation to world war one, and later this year, we will do so in relation to world war two. We have already released some information about the current situation. It is the Government's intention to release as many documents as possible, although we will not do anything that threatens the security of this country.
Better Government Programme
5. Mr. Ben Chapman: Which Government Departments are involved in his better government programme. [25360]
Mr. Kilfoyle: All parts of Government are actively involved in the preparations for the better government White Paper. This includes local as well as central Government.
Mr. Chapman: I thank my hon. Friend for that response. I warmly welcome the better government initiative, which will allow us to implement that part of our manifesto to rebuild people's hopes for politics. In that context, the use of information technology will be important. It will allow us to deliver services more efficiently and more quickly. What are my hon. Friend's plans for the use of new technology in the better government initiative?
Mr. Kilfoyle: We have many plans to use information technology--although it is not the only answer. It is only one weapon in an armoury that is designed to deliver better services. The armoury includes an electronic dimension to the vanguard project, which combines the Contributions Agency, Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise. We also have the direct access government project, which has already put more than 600 forms and pieces of Government information on to the internet. The central information technology unit ranges across Government, finding appropriate ways in which to use information technology. My right hon. Friend has already instigated work on the use of smartcards and electronic signatures to that end.
Mr. Ruffley: In the context of improving his Department's performance, will the Minister tell us whether those inquiring into the disgraceful leaking of the freedom of information legislation have personally interviewed the Minister without Portfolio and/or his associates? A simple yes or no answer will suffice.
Mr. McAllion: As part of the better government programme, do the Government intend to do something about the concentration of civil service departments and quangos in relatively few population centres? For example, Edinburgh and Glasgow have twice as many civil service and quango jobs per head of population as Dundee--and God knows how the figures for London compare with those for Dundee. What are the Government's plans for a people's civil service which is dispersed across the entire country, and therefore in touch with what those of us who live outside the greater metropolitan areas think?
Mr. Kilfoyle: As my hon. Friend knows, individual civil servants are chosen on the basis of merit. Some areas of the civil service will obviously be responsible to the future Scottish Parliament. The better government project aims to ensure that we deliver better services to the people by whatever means. That is the yardstick against which we shall measure where it is appropriate to locate individual civil servants or Departments.
Freedom of Information
6. Mr. Paterson: What representations he has received on the freedom of information White Paper. [25361]
Dr. David Clark: We have received more than 70 responses so far, and the overwhelming majority of them have welcomed the Government's proposals.
Mr. Paterson: Does the right hon. Gentleman intend that, following legislation, there will be more or less freedom of information than exists in the United States of America?
Dr. Clark: It is clearly a very different system, and I am determined that we will not follow the American system of litigation in the form of appeal. The system that we have developed is designed for the Westminster model and for our political culture. I have been encouraged by the responses that I have received from overseas, almost all of which refer to this piece of legislation as belonging to the next generation of freedom of information Acts.
Ms Abbott: The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will be aware that his freedom of information White Paper and the radical proposals that it contains have been widely acclaimed. It may be one of the most important things that the Government will do. Has my right hon. Friend received any representations about the Millennium Experience Company? In the spirit of the freedom of information White Paper, should it now post interim accounts so that there may be greater transparency regarding how it is spending £750 million of public money?
Dr. Clark: It would not be appropriate for me to trespass on the millennium experience. However, the idea of continually releasing information is a good sign and a positive step towards freedom of information. Although I do not wish to anticipate a written question at 3.30 this afternoon, I can confirm that I hope to publish a background paper on the details that were given to the committee that drew up the White Paper, as I promised to do on an earlier occasion.
Correspondence
7. Mr. Burns: What guidance he provides to civil servants concerning the time taken to answer correspondence from hon. Members; and what monitoring he carries out. [25362]
Mr. Kilfoyle: Each Minister in charge of a Department is responsible for ensuring that the handling of correspondence in that Department is effective, and that robust and challenging target times are set for replies to letters from hon. Members. Individual Ministers are also responsible for monitoring their Department's performance against those target times. My Department collates and publishes information for all Departments annually.
Mr. Burns: I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. In a genuine and non-party political way, I stress that there is concern about deteriorating standards and the length of time that hon. Members must wait before
receiving ministerial replies to constituents' queries. Some 63 per cent. of my correspondence does not receive a reply until after four weeks and 23 per cent. does not receive a reply until after nine weeks. Will the Minister speak to his Government colleagues about trying to tighten up the system and restore the standards that applied before 1 May?
Mr. Kilfoyle: The hon. Gentleman will know that the Office of Public Service is responsible for collating and reviewing such information; that process is on-going. Individual Departments are responsible to individual Ministers. Last year, in the Office of Public Service, 63 per cent. of correspondence met the target date. So far this year, under the new Government, that figure has gone up to 97 per cent.
Better Regulation Unit
8. Mr. Pike: What projects have been identified as priorities for action by the better regulation unit. [25363]
Dr. David Clark: A key part of my work is to create a modern and fair Government servicing our citizens. One of the unit's priorities is the smooth operation of the deregulation order-making process. I thank my hon. Friend for his work as Chairman of the Select Committee on Deregulation. Other priorities that we have identified include the direct access Government system for providing regulatory forms and guidance and developing a concordat, local business partnerships and one-stop services. In addition, the unit works closely with the better regulation task force, chaired by Chris Haskins, and with other Departments in the review of existing regimes and the development of new proposals.
Mr. Pike: I welcome my right hon. Friend's work to ensure that we obtain the right balance between scrapping unnecessary red tape and providing protection for the British citizen. Bearing in mind the importance of that, how will the better regulation task force ensure best practice?
Dr. Clark: As my hon. Friend knows, we replaced the deregulation task force with the better regulation task force because we recognised that a balance had to be struck on the lines that he has suggested. More than half the members of the better regulation task force are drawn from small businesses. They have been broken up into various working parties led by experts and they have recently produced a good set of principles for good regulations which have been broadly welcomed in Britain and in the European Union, to the extent that I intend to have them translated into French and German. [Interruption.]
Madam Speaker: Order. The House must come to order. The conversations are much too noisy. I cannot hear.
Mr. Fabricant: Further to the earlier question of my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis), will the unit ensure that the principles of the freedom of information Act are upheld? Will he assure the House now that the files held on the Minister without Portfolio will not be destroyed and will be made available when the Act is passed?
Dr. Clark: I am not responsible for the operation of the security services.
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