Devolution papers release vetoed
The Attorney General has vetoed the release of Cabinet committee papers relating to devolution under the Freedom of Information Act.
Dominic Grieve said in a written statement to Parliament it was not in the public interest to release the papers because it would undermine the operation of Government.
A request had been made for publication of the minutes of the Cabinet Ministerial Committee of Devolution to Scotland and Wales and the English Regions, dating from 1997 and 1998.
Such a veto has only been used twice in the past, once relating to further devolution papers and once over a request for Cabinet minutes relating to Iraq.
In his statement, Mr Grieve said: “This is only the third time the power… has been exercised since the (Freedom of Information) Act came into force in 2005.
“In that time, central Government has released an enormous amount of information in response to FoI requests – including in October 2010 the minutes of the Cabinet discussion of the Westland affair. My decision to exercise the veto in this case was not taken lightly but in accordance with the Statement on Government Policy on the use of the executive override.
“In line with the policy, I have both assessed the balance of the public interest in disclosure and non-disclosure of these minutes and considered whether this case meets the criteria set out in the Statement of Government Policy for use of the veto.
“I consider the public interest falls in favour of non-disclosure and that disclosure would be damaging to the doctrine of collective responsibility and detrimental to the effective operation of Cabinet government. I have concluded, in light of the criteria set out in the Government’s policy, this constitutes an exceptional case and the exercise of the veto is warranted.”
A spokesman for the Information Commissioner’s Office said: “The Information Commissioner is aware that the Attorney-General has exercised the veto and regrets that the tribunal has, for the second time, been denied an opportunity to consider the issues as provided for in the Freedom of Information Act.”
Former justice secretary Jack Straw exercised the veto on both previous occasions it has been used. Most recently, in December 2010, Mr Straw blocked the release of Cabinet minutes on talks about devolution dating back to 1997.
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