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Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they consider that Ministers are under a duty not to withhold information from Parliament because it is politically inconvenient; and
Whether they will amend Questions of Procedure for Ministers so as to ensure that Ministers are under a duty not to withhold information from Parliament because it is politically inconvenient to disclose such information.
Earl Howe: The Government's response to the Public Service Committee Report published on 7th November notes that Questions of Procedure for Ministers will be amended to read that Ministers "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".
Possible embarrassment of Ministers has never been a factor in considering whether information should be made available under the code of practice. This point has been reinforced in the Government's response to the Report from the PCA Select Committee which says: "Possible embarrassment of civil servants or Ministers has never been a factor in considering whether information should be made available under the Code of Practice. The Government agrees, however, that it could be helpful for the avoidance of doubt if this were specifically referred to in the guidance on interpretation."
Civil Service: Staffing
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many (i) men and (ii) women are employed by each department of state in (a) administrative and clerical grades, (b) professional and technical grades and (c) manual grades.
Earl Howe: Following delegation of pay and grading to departments earlier this year, it is no longer possible to distinguish administrative and clerical grades from professional and technical grades. The numbers of male and female industrial and non-industrial staff in each department are shown in Table 1D of Civil Service Statistics 1996, a copy of which is in the Library.
Local Authorities: Staffing
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will undertake a survey of employment patterns in local authorities to ascertain how many men and how many women are currently employed in (a) administrative and clerical grades, (b) professional and technical grades, including teachers and social services staff and (c) manual grades.
The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Earl Ferrers): Data on local authority staffing analysed by service, including teachers and
social services staff, and by manual and non-manual employment are available from the annual joint staffing watch survey completed by local authorities in England and Wales. Comparable information analysed by gender and service is collected quarterly and is used by the Office for National Statistics to augment data collected in their regular census of employment. Data on local authority staffing in Scotland analysed by service, including teachers and social services staff, by salary band and by gender by full-time/part-time are available from the quarterly Scottish joint staffing watch survey. Copies of the press releases for the June 1996 survey in England and Wales and the July 1996 survey in Scotland have been placed in the Library. Census of employment data are given in a number of publications, principally Labour Market Trends.In England and Wales, the joint staffing watch group carried out a review of the coverage of both inquiries during 1993. A similar review of the Scottish joint staffing watch was conducted by the Scottish Office and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The response to consultation on these reviews did not identify any further information requirements from central or local government.
Water Abstraction: Licences
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many licences for the abstraction of water from bore holes and rivers respectively for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes respectively have been granted in each of the last 10 years.
Earl Ferrers: I regret that information is not at present available in the form requested. However, the
Environment Agency is working to implement its national abstraction licensing database by 1998 and such information should thereafter be readily accessible.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their policy on the granting by the Environment Agency, as successor body to the National Rivers Authority, of licences for the abstraction of water from bore holes for agricultural irrigation.
Earl Ferrers: The Environment Agency grants licences for the abstraction of water in order of receipt of application, provided water is available for abstraction with acceptable impact on the environment.
Farms: Winter Storage of Water
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether it is their policy, and if so what measures they propose, to encourage winter storage rather than abstraction from boreholes or summer abstraction from rivers of water for agricultural irrigation.
Earl Ferrers: Her Majesty's Government support the construction of on-farm winter storage reservoirs, where this is possible, as a means of securing adequate supplies of water for agricultural use. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has produced a leaflet containing a detailed step by step guide to planning, constructing and operating such reservoirs. The Environment Agency encourages winter storage of water by farmers, particularly through its abstraction charging scheme under which, for any given source and purpose, abstraction confined to the winter months is charged at one tenth of the rate for abstraction in summer.
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