Clause 48 - Permitted methods of publishing information under section 47
Public Audit (Wales) Bill [Lords]
3:00 pm
Mr Bill Wiggin (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Local and Devolved Government Affairs; Leominster, Conservative)
I am sorry to hear that the Minister has such a downer on electronic communication. One of the Achilles heels in this debate is the ''printed for sale'' element. If we are talking about releasing information, we must keep our eye firmly on the ball: not everybody will want to pay for that information. The amendment was a constructive way of allowing it to be accessible without charge. The point that the Minister made about not everybody having access to the internet is fair, and I suspect that probably the best thing to do now is to leave the matter with the Government and hope that they will amend the Bill in their own time.