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Local Transport Bill [Lords]
Public Bill Committees, 6 May 2008, 10:30 am
Rosie Winterton (Minister of State, Department for Transport; Doncaster Central, Labour)
Welcome back to the Chair, Lady Winterton. I hope that I can give the hon. Gentleman some reassurance here. The Bill already takes account of the need for commercial confidentiality in the circumstances he described. It allows for regulations to be made that might restrict public attendance at inquiries where appropriate. We have it in mind that that might be used to restrict members of the public from attending those parts of an inquiry that are concerned with confidential financial information. A similar provision to that which we envisage already exists in regulations on inquiries held by traffic commissioners.
The Bill will also make it a criminal offence to disclose protected information. We will be consulting on the draft regulations later in the year. I hope that that gives the hon. Gentleman some reassurance that the Bill covers his concerns and that he feels able to withdraw his amendment.