TNAG-1838-FCO40-2613-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 68

COVERING MANAGEMENT IN

HKB 011/3

Mr Holt PRU

FAC:

ORAL EVIDENCE

CONFIDENCE

46

FROM:

SF Bailey (Miss)

Parliamentary Relations Unit

DATE:

25 January 1989

/ 1. I attach herewith a copy of "Parliamentary Select

Committees: Visits Overseas" which we send to any post which is expecting a visit by the FAC or the Defence Committee in connection with an enquiry. Annex A was prepared by a former Clerk to the Committee and gives guidelines regarding the forms of evidence taken by the Committee.

2.

In order to further clarify my mind on the matter of oral evidence and, if possible, to simplify the associated procedures, I spoke yesterday to Mark Hutton. The following emerged:

FORMAL EVIDENCE (OPEN SESSION)

3. Evidence is taken in public with members of the press present. If Departments feel, in advance of the Session, that it is possible that some of the questioning may involve matters of a sensitive or classified nature, then the Department should write to the Committee explaining that substantive answers could only be given if treated in confidence and should explain why this is so. It is then necessary for the Committee to decide whether to go ahead and hold an Open Session or whether they should instead take evidence in a Private Session (no press or public). If it is decided to hold an Open Session and a question is asked which is considered to be of a sensitive or classified nature, then the Minister or Official concerned could inform the Committee that he could not answer on the grounds of confidentiality.

FORMAL EVIDENCE (PRIVATE SESSION)

4.

No press or public are present. In the case of confidential evidence given to the Committee during a Private Session the side-lining procedures set out in para 1 (1) of my minute to you of 24 January will come into effect. But it should be noted that Select Committees may sometimes challenge a request for side-lining and Officials must always be sure that they can justify such a request if they make one. The final decision on sidelining rests with the Committee.

EVIDENCE TAKEN AT POSTS ABROAD

5. The Committee holds informal meetings on an unattributable and off-the-record basis. Such discussions

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