confidential evidence to a Committee, Departments should bear in mind that the final authority as to whether or not evidence shall be published rests with the Committee. Arrangements have occasionally been made whereby certain classified evidence is given only to a sub-Committee of a main Commons Select Committee. Formally, however, Departments should proceed on the basis that main Committees and sub-Committees represent a single entity. evidence given to Committees in closed sessions (ie when the public and the Press are not admitted) should be disclosed by Departments before the evidence has been published by the Committee.
Disclosure of Confidential Information in Oral Evidence
80:
No
49. It would clearly be inappropriate for any evidence which a Department wished to be treated as confidential to be given at a session of the Committee to which the public and Press are admitted or which may be recorded for broadcasting. Accordingly, if it appears likely that topics to be discussed at a forthcoming public session of a Committee are such that the departmental witnesses would only be able to give substantive answers if they could be treated in confidence, the Department should write to the Chairman or the Clerk to the Committee explaining why this is
in most cases it is likely that it would be appropriate for the departmental Minister to write to the Chairman. If, despite such an approach, a Committee questions an official witness in public session on what he considers confidential matters, or if such matters are raised unexpectedly, he should inform the Committee that he cannot answer the question on grounds of confidentiality: he should not himself suggest that the Committee should go into closed session. In certain technical fields (eg defence research) it may be useful for a department to hold-off-the-record "presentations" for Committee members.
Procedures for Avoiding Publication of Confidential Evidence
30.
Where confidential written evidence is submitted to a Committee on the understanding that it will not be published, this understanding should be made clear in the covering letter to the Clerk to the Committee accompanying the evidence.
51. In the case of confidential evidence given orally to Committee in closed session, the following procedures should be followed in order to ensure that such evidence is not made public:
- TOP
Information with a security classification SECRET, SECRET, CONFIDENTIAL, RESTRICTED. (See also Sir Douglas Allen's letter of 19 August 1975 to Heads of Departments, Annex E). In cases where information with a security classification is revealed to a Committee, the
19