T
In no circumstances is the record of such a meeting
published. It is taken for the private use of the Committee, and is particularly useful to those Members absent from the meeting.
3.
Evidence
There are many forms of evidence session and these are
At their least described below in descending order of formality. formal there is little to distinguish them from informal
the crucial difference is that the briefings or discussions; record of such meetings is intended for publication. *
(a)
Formal evidence in public
This is the usual kind of evidence in the UK, where the The Committee hears as much evidence as possible in public. proceedings are recorded verbatim, either by shorthand writer or by tape, and are protected by Parliamentary privilege.
A typescript of the meeting is prepared from which a proof is produced. This is sent to the witness for correction (whithin strict guidelines) and is eventualy published. Such evidence, for practical reasons, may only be taken on British soil, either in the UK, in a dependent territory or in a UK Embassy or High Commission. At public sessions it is usual to distribute any supporting written evidence to members of the press and public and, whenever possible, to report the evidence to the House immediately. In general the Committee will not take formal evidence in public in an Embassy or High Commission.
(b) Formal evidence in private
This evidence is similar to formal evidence in public except that strangers are not admitted and an extra process may be introduced to allow for proposed sidelining of any sensitive
* NOTE: "publication" here means either the printing of evidence by HMSO or the deposit of the record in the Library of the House for the use of Members of Parliament and others.