34. Letter from the Chairman to Michael
Wills MP, Minister of State, Ministry of Justice
Thank you for your letters of 24 January, about
our Bill of Rights inquiry, and 8 February, in reply to my letter
of 23 January.
In your letter of 24 January you asked about
the timetable for our Bill of Rights inquiry. I am sorry for the
delay in responding, but this matter was only discussed by my
Committee yesterday. Our intention is to conclude taking oral
evidence before the April recess with a view to publishing our
Report before the Whit break. With that aim in mind, I wish to
invite the Secretary of State for Justice and you to appear before
the Committee on Tuesday 1 April at 2.30pm. I am copying this
letter to the Secretary of State and would be grateful to know
as soon as possible whether this date and time is convenient for
you both.
In my letter of 23 January I noted that the
Government had yet to provide written evidence to our Bill of
Rights inquiry. Your reply does not address this issue directly
but refers to your letter of 24 January being your contribution
to the inquiry. I would not be satisfied to accept this letter
as a memorandum from the department. Although I understand that
you are still finalising your Green Paper, I would expect a fuller
memorandum giving some more detailed reasoning as to why the Government
wishes to consult on this issue at this time, perhaps drawing
on some of the speeches that you and the Secretary of State have
been giving in recent weeks. Could you clarify whether or not
you will be providing us with a written memorandum ahead of your
oral evidence?
I would be grateful if you could reply by Thursday
6 March.
21 February 2008
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