Maurice Hayes (Independent)

I thank the Minister for attending the debate and for his attention to it. I wish him well in his important discussions in Brussels and have no wish to delay his departure.

I found I was unable to accept the Bill on Second Stage, although I was strongly in favour of parts of it. I strongly favour protecting the integrity of Government discussions. It is a sensible measure to extend the secrecy period from five to ten years. I am still concerned about the width of the definition. It should be possible to obtain a narrower definition of what constitutes Government business. I also thought that there appeared to be a tendency to move the Information Commissioner out of the Act and give him a lesser role than he currently holds.

I am also concerned about the method of consultation. While I have enormous regard and respect for the Secretaries General, they were all looking at the issue through the same lenses. I hope that, as the Bill proceeds in the Lower House, it may be possible to develop more consultation, particularly with the commissioner. When I was in a similar position, people let me see the drafts of Bills with which they were dealing. The commissioner is a statutory officer dealing with these issues and probably knows as much about where the shoe pinches as anyone else.