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Written Question
Parliamentary Questions
Tuesday 20th December 2016

Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the statement in the <i>Companion to the Standing Orders and Guide to Proceedings of the House of Lords</i> that "A parliamentary question is not a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000", whether answers to parliamentary questions should contain more or less information than a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

Section 1 of the Ministerial Code states that Ministers have a duty to be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest. This should be decided in accordance with the relevant statutes and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.