Interviews
6
Page 39
38. A Minister may decide in his discretion whether he should grant special interviews to individual Press representatives, bearing in mind that an interview granted to a representative of a single newspaper or agency may arouse jealousy in the rest of the Press. As a general rule, the same considerations apply to inter- views as to written articles (see paragraph 35 above).
V.—Parliamentary Private Secretaries
39. Parliamentary Private Secretaries occupy a special position which is not always understood by the general public, either at home or abroad. They are not members of the Government, and should be careful to avoid being spoken of as such. They are Private Members, and should therefore be afforded as great a liberty of action as possible; but their close and confidential association with Ministers necessarily imposes certain obligations on them, and has led to the generally accepted practice set out in the following paragraph.
40. Parliamentary Private Secretaries should not make statements in the House or put Questions on matters affecting the Department with which they are connected. They should also exercise great discretion in any speeches or broadcasts which they may make outside the House, taking care not to make statements which appear to be made in an official or semi-official capacity, and bearing in mind at the same time that, however careful they may be to make it clear that they are speaking only as Private Members, they are, nevertheless, liable to be regarded as speaking with some of the authority which attaches to a member of the Govern- ment. Generally they must act with a sense of responsibility and with discretion; and they must not associate themselves with particular groups advocating special policies.
VI.--Absence of Ministers from the United Kingdom
41. Any Minister who is a member of the Cabinet or is in charge of a Depart- ment should obtain The Queen's permission to be absent from the United Kingdom, whether on duty or on leave, and should inform Her Majesty what arrangements. are to be made for the administration of his office during his absence. Such arrangements should have the prior approval of the Prime Minister.
Other Ministers who propose to leave the United Kingdom, whether on duty or on leave, need not obtain The Queen's permission to do so. They should, however, obtain the consent of their own Minister and of the Prime Minister.
Any Minister who proposes to visit a foreign country should consult the Foreign Secretary, before seeking the Prime Minister's consent; and a Minister who proposes to visit another part of the Commonwealth should similarly consult the Commonwealth Secretary (if the visit is to a self-governing Commonwealth country or to the High Commission territories in South Africa) or the Colonial Secretary. Ministers proposing to visit the Irish Republic, even on holiday, should first consult the Commonwealth Secretary.
42. When a Minister is to be away from London, his Parliamentary Secretary will normally take Ministerial charge of the Department. On some occasions, however, it may be desirable that arrangements should be made for another Minister of Cabinet rank to hold himself available to give political guidance to officials of the Department and to represent the Department's interests in dis- cussions in Cabinet or Cabinet Committees. Any such arrangements, if not initiated by the Prime Minister, should have his prior approval.
When one Minister of Cabinet rank is acting in this way on behalf of another, special care must be taken over the exercise of statutory powers. With some exceptions the powers of a Secretary of State can be exercised by another Secretary of State; and the powers of a Board or Council may be exercisable in the absence of its principal member. But for the most part the powers of a Minister cannot be exercised by a Minister in charge of another Department; and a Minister who is acting for an absent colleague should be careful to avoid appearing formally to exercise powers which are expressed by statute as exercisable by his colleague.
There is no similar difficulty about submissions to Her Majesty. Submissions made in the absence of a Minister should be made by his Parliamentary Page 39 of 200
Page 39
39
Sagar Offe2
7
40
Privy Counsellor; if he is not, they may be mathe Minister of Cabinet rank. Submissions on behalf of an absent Secretary of State must be made by another Secretary of State. Submissions on behalf of the First Lord of the Admiralty may be made in his absence by the Senior Lord Commissioner.
43. Occasional visits by Ministers to territories and services overseas for which they are responsible (e.g., a visit by a Colonial Office Minister to a Colony or by an Admiralty Minister to a Royal Naval establishment overseas) may properly be charged to public funds. Ministers should not, however, charge to public funds the cost of visits to other countries made for the purpose of observing the working of a Government service abroad analogous to that for which they are responsible in the United Kingdom.
| (a)
VII.-Parliamentary Statements and Papers
Statements after Questions
44. When Parliament is in session important announcements of Government policy should be made, in the first instance, in Parliament. But, if too many announcements are made at the end of Questions, Parliamentary business is impeded and important statements may not receive adequate publicity in the Press. Ministers proposing to made a statement after Questions, whether or not related to a Question on the Order Paper, or to answer at the end of Questions a Question which is not likely to be reached, are therefore asked to conform with the following procedure:
(a) The earliest possible notice should be given to the Prime Minister's Private Secretary, who will consult as necessary with the Leader of the House of Commons and with the Chief Whip. Particulars should be given of the subject matter of the proposed statement, the date on which it is desired to make it, and the grounds for making it on that date and for adopting this method of announcement. It should also be stated whether the announcement has been approved by the Cabinet or by one of its Committees.
(b) Copies of the draft statement should be sent as soon as it is available to the Prime Minister, to the Leader of the House of Commons and to the Chief Whip. These copies should arrive not later than 10 a.m. on the day on which the statement is to be made.
(c) It is at times desirable that a copy of such a statement should be shown to the Opposition shortly before it is made. If this is desired, a copy of the final text should reach the office of the Chief Whip in the House of Commons as early as possible and in any case not later than 2 p.m. on the day on which the statement is to be made.
(d) A copy of the final text should in all cases be sent to the Speaker. (e) It may sometimes be expedient that a corresponding statement should be made simultaneously in the House of Lords. Ministers should, where necessary, consult the Leader of the House of Lords on this point.
Publication of White Papers
45. Similar considerations apply to the publication of White Papers, particu- larly as regards the avoidance of simultaneous publication of White Papers for which it is desired to obtain publicity. Ministers are therefore asked, even though the publication of a White Paper may have been approved by the Cabinet, to apply to White Papers the procedure laid down for statements after Questions in para- graph 44 above.
46. Care must be taken to avoid any possibility of an infringement of Parlia- mentary privilege when publicity arrangements are made for White Papers. The accepted practice is for final revised proof copies of White Papers to be made available to Lobby correspondents somewhat in advance of their being laid in the Vote Office and for Ministers to hold a Lobby Conference if they think it desirable. The Prime Minister's Adviser on Public Relations should be consulted if there is any question of a wider advance distribution than this. Such wider distribution- e.g., to industrial correspondents-is to be avoided save in exceptional circumstances.