Clause 57

Part of Health and Social Care Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:15 pm on 17 January 2008.

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Photo of Sandra Gidley Sandra Gidley Shadow Minister, Health 3:15, 17 January 2008

I beg to move amendment No. 239, in clause 57, page 28, line 23, leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘must’.

This is a simple probing amendment. As the Bill stands,

The Commission may publish a report prepared under subsection (2).”

I am curious about the circumstances under which a report would not be published. To my way of thinking, the more information in the public domain the better and the greater the transparency of any organisation, the greater the public trust in it. All reports should be published. However, subsection (3) seems to give some flexibility. I am not sure why that is needed. I seek an example from the Minister of where it would not be necessary to publish a report. It would be helpful to know why the word “may” was chosen.