Clause 11
Statistics and Registration Service Bill
12:30 pm
John Healey (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; Wentworth, Labour)
My argument is, first, given the importance of pre-release, it is appropriate that Parliament, not the board, scrutinises and finally approves the rules and procedures that relate to pre-release access. Secondly, the process should have special status, which it is given by the Bill, requiring such scrutiny and approval of Parliament, and the devolved Administrations, where appropriate. Thirdly, the process should reflect the proper devolved settlement so that the devolved Administrations have responsibility for the fully devolved statistics. Fourthly and finally, there will also be an important role for the independent board. It will assess and monitor compliance with the rules set out in the secondary legislation, approved by Parliament, as part of its assessment of general compliance with the terms of the code. That is the approach that we believe to be correct, which is reflected in the Bill.
I have been clear that there is a case for tightening the system, and the hon. Member for Sevenoaks mentioned this when moving amendment No. 21. I said so in oral evidence to the Treasury Committee, in response to the consultation and on Second Reading. I also said on Second Reading that, after taking into account concerns about the extent of pre-release and the perceptions of potential abuse of the system, the Government had decided to tighten current pre-release arrangements by aligning the pre-release access for non-market-sensitive national statistics with that for market-sensitive statistics, so that pre-release for all national statistics will be set at 40.5 hours. In other words, a time of 5 pm would be set—after the markets have closed—two days before a 9.30 am release.
We also announced that the Government would provide in secondary legislation guidance to Departments that access should be limited to those individuals who really required the data. Following our debate on Second Reading, I have written to the Committee, as has been referred to, setting out my expectations of the types of issue that the principles in the guidance will deal with.
I hope that I have answered some of the questions that hon. Members asked about. I have ensured that the process will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, and that Parliament will have a further scrutiny and approval role in the arrangements. Suffice it to say that I am confident that the new arrangements will provide greater clarity, certainty, transparency and enforceability than the current ones and they will help to reduce perceptions of ministerial interference in statistical release.
As I explained on Second Reading, the Bill establishes a general statistical system that can be developed in light of experience—a point to which my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West referred—and we shall review the operation of the new pre-release system 12 months after it starts.
Amendment No. 21 is similar to amendment No. 92, and was tabled by the hon. Member for Sevenoaks. It would require the code of practice to deal with any matter relating to pre-release access to official statistics. Clause 11(3) already ensures that the code will apply in relation to any official statistics as if it included the rules and principles established by order under subsection (2). That reflects the fact that, given the importance of pre-release, Parliament and not the board should ultimately approve the rules and procedures relating to pre-release access to statistics in the final form prior to publication. The code will be backed by statute but not set out in statute, so pre-release access has been given special status under the system. That means that Parliament will be required to scrutinise and approve it through an affirmative resolution under clause 62 with appropriate arrangements in the devolved Administrations.
Amendment No. 22, tabled by the hon. Member for Sevenoaks, would allow the board to determine rules and procedures for pre-release via such an order. Although there are some examples of non-ministerial offices or bodies with the powers to make secondary legislation—including the Registrar General, who is the subject of part 2 of the Bill—that is a relatively unusual provision, as the hon. Gentleman will concede. I must make it clear to the Committee that there is no legal or technical reason why an independent body could not be given the power to bring secondary legislation, but it is unusual for the simple reason that when such instruments are subject to a parliamentary procedure, as they would be under clause 62, no member of that body can participate in the discussion or any vote on the substance.
On the rare occasions that a non-ministerial body has powers to make subordinate legislation, a Minister is required to speak on behalf of that body in the House. Clearly, that would result in the slightly bizarre situation that a Minister who had no involvement in the making of the order or in the policy behind it would be expected to lead a parliamentary discussion of the order. I do not see that that is a sensible arrangement for the future.
Amendments Nos. 83 and 84 when read together are designed, as the hon. Member for Twickenham made clear, to limit the length of pre-release access that could be provided to the Government or the devolved Administrations to two hours before general release. I think that the hon. Gentleman might accept that two hours is simply not sufficient for consideration or to allow the sorts of measures that might be required.
Amendment No. 43, tabled by the hon. Member for Twickenham, also essentially supports the contention that it should be the board rather than Ministers who set the pre-release arrangements. I hope that I have already set out why Ministers in the devolved Administrations rather than the board should set the arrangements and why Parliament should be allowed to scrutinise those arrangements through the order-making process. I do not accept his argument. I cannot accept the amendments and, if they are pressed to a vote, I shall ask my hon. Friends to oppose them.
Amendments Nos. 26 and 27 were tabled by the hon. Member for Sevenoaks. The protocol on release practices establishes the requirement that Departments publish lists of who is entitled to have privileged early access and for how long for each statistical release. Indeed, the hon. Gentleman read from those lists earlier in the debate. I expect that requirement to continue into the new system. As my letter to the Committee last week made clear, I expect the secondary legislation to set out the rules and principles for deciding the number of officials in each Department who receive pre-release access with a view to tightening and making more consistent the arrangements across Government, including for the reporting and public confirmation of such arrangements.
I hope that on that basis hon. Members will be prepared to accept clause 11 and will not vote against its standing part of the Bill. I hope that they will reflect and not press their amendments to a vote, but if they do I shall have to ask my hon. Friends to resist.