Views
Undermining the public's right to know - for The Inverness Courier
AS the House of Commons starts its summer recess, it seems that ministers have been using the opportunity to sneak out difficult announcements.
More than 100 "written statements" were made by ministers in the last days of Parliament's sitting. No debate on these was possible, and little media coverage was possible in the deluge of information.
The statements covered a very wide range of issues from incompetence in tax credits, failures of the child support agency as well as details about how much ministers use their cars (going up) and the slightly odd list of people who stayed at Chequers (the Prime Minister's country house) during the closing weeks of Tony Blair's prime ministership.
The point is not so much about the specific contents of the announcements — though frankly many of these points could and should have been announced earlier. The real concern is about the disdainful attitude towards freedom of information and parliamentary debate that this government continues to show.
Gordon Brown has talked a good game about increasing the role of Parliament, but the reality is rather different. Let us not forget that it was Labour and Conservative MPs who tried to force through a disgraceful bill that would have exempted MPs from Freedom of Information legislation. That was opposed in the House of Commons by Liberal Democrats and a few independent-minded Labour MPs and in the end it died a death in the House of Lords.
I believe that Parliament and government work better when their activities are open to public scrutiny. Britain has for too long had a culture of secrecy, which has led to many bad decisions and not a few scandals. The knowledge that the public has a right to know what is going on within government should act as an incentive to both officials and ministers to properly think through and justify their decisions. It seems that Mr Brown's government is grudging in its respect for the letter of that law and totally at odds with the spirit of it.
VISITING PARLIAMENT
While MPs will not be debating in the House of Commons until early October, the buildings will continue to be very much open to visitors. Despite the increased security to deal with potential terrorist threats, the UK Parliament remains very easy for people to access either to meet their MP or simply to have a look round the historic buildings.
I am always delighted to welcome local people to the House of Commons and to arrange for a tour. One of the highlights at the moment is a special exhibition that commemorates the decision 200 years ago this year to abolish the slave trade.
Many MPs with constituencies nearer to London may have more visitors, but I have been delighted that so many people from Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey have been here in the last two years. If you are coming to London and would like to visit Parliament, just contact my office.
EDEN COURT
Last month I was fortunate to have the chance to look around the building site that is currently Eden Court theatre, to see the tremendous facility that is rapidly taking shape. Though the delays are certainly disappointing, I was left with no doubt that the new Eden Court with its additional cinemas, revamped public spaces and theatres, will be a huge asset to the entire Highlands.
This is emphatically money well spent that will enhance the cultural life of our city, helping to attract new people to visit and to live here. The importance of a dynamic cultural sector cannot be underestimated as firms like LifeScan seek to attract some of the world's best people in their sector to base themselves here.
As to the case of Councillor Roddy Balfour, it is not for me to intrude into the problems within the ruling administration at Glenurquhart Road. But if the Secretary of State for Defence had announced that he thought the Navy's new aircraft carriers were a waste of money, I doubt we would be seeing much more of him!
Posted on: 31/07/2007
