The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on machinery of government changes. It said that it was important to preserve the ability of the Prime Minister of the day to organize the structure of the government as necessary, and to do so without undue delay.
Source: Machinery of Government Changes: Government Response to the Committee's Seventh Report, Third Special Report (Session 2007-08), HC 90, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2007-Nov
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on conduct in public life. It said that it agreed that there needed to be further debate about the precise way in which ethical oversight was best arranged.
Source: Ethics and Standards: The regulation of conduct in public life – Government Response to the Committee's Fourth Report, First Special Report (Session 2007-08), HC 88, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2007-Nov
The government announced a package of measures to enhance openness and increase public access to information. A review of the '30-year rule' – the date by which government departments should transfer public records to the national archives, and the date at which records became historical – could lead to an increase in access to government records, and would include recommendations on reducing the release of data from 30 years. The government would consult formally on extending the application of the Freedom of Information Act to include a range of organizations that performed public functions, including public work carried out by privately contracted companies. The government published its response to the two consultations on whether to amend the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004: it said that it had decided not to proceed with proposals to amend the regulations (which would have made it easier for officials to resist freedom of information requests on costs grounds). It also published its response to a report by a committee of MPs on the issue of fee regulations.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 25 October 2007, columns 19-20WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Freedom of Information Act 2000: Designation of Additional Public Authorities – Consultation paper, CP 27/07, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500) | Draft Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2007: Response to Consultation, Ministry of Justice | Government Response to the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee Report: Freedom of Information – Government's Proposals for Reform, Cm 7187, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Hansard | MOJ press release | Downing Street press release | Consultation document (FOI) | Consultation responses (FOI fees) | Response to MPs | MPs report | Information Commissioner press release | EHRC press release | Bar Council press release | Telegraph report | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | Guardian report | FT report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs said that all major changes to the machinery of government should require the consent of Parliament as a whole.
Source: Machinery of Government Changes, Seventh Report (Session 2006-07), HC 672, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that government plans for new cost limits on freedom of information requests were 'unnecessary, unpopular and undesirable'.
Source: Freedom of Information: Government's proposals for reform, Fourth Report (Session 2006-07), HC 415, House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jun
The House of Commons voted to exempt itself from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, ending the legal requirement for MPs to disclose their expenses and introducing further restrictions on the release of MPs' correspondence.
Source: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill, David Maclean MP, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Hansard | HOC research brief | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-May
A report by a committee of MPs identified the principles of ethical regulation in public life, and what their application meant for practice. It explored the balance between independence and accountability, and discussed possible organizational models. It said that there should be no imposed reorganization: but that there should be arrangements that promoted the security and coherence of the regulatory system as a whole.
Source: Ethics and Standards: The regulation of conduct in public life, Fourth Report (Session 2006-07), HC 121, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Apr
The watchdog for official information said that 83 per cent of public authorities questioned believed that the Freedom of Information Act had helped create a culture of greater openness in the public sector. 59 per cent of respondents agreed that freedom of information had reduced unnecessary secrecy.
Source: Press release 29 March 2007, Information Commissioner (01625 545 700)
Links: Information Commissioner press release
Date: 2007-Mar
A report examined the impact of the Parliamentary Ombudsman since the creation of the office in 1967.
Source: Richard Kirkham, The Parliamentary Ombudsman: Withstanding the Test of Time, Fourth Report (Session 2006-07), HC 421, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Mar