Wanless Review

Julian Huppert Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I would not normally reveal the interaction between myself and the Home Affairs Committee in relation to an appearance, but as the right hon. Gentleman has made reference to it, I think I should clarify the matter for the House. I am happy to appear in front of the Committee on these matters, but I did not feel that it was appropriate to do so before the report had been published. I would have been asked questions that it would not have been appropriate for me to answer, given that I had not yet made the report public. However, I look forward to receiving an invitation to appear on a separate date.

The right hon. Gentleman is right on the issue of record keeping, and the matter is being addressed in the Home Office. We want to ensure that this is done as quickly as possible, but we also want to ensure that the system that is being put in place will work, that it will be sustainable over time, and that everyone who is working in it understands it and deals with it appropriately. That is not something that can be done at the click of one’s fingers. It takes a little time.

[Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD)]

When we heard from Wanless and Whittam at the Home Affairs Committee this morning, they told us that their report had been submitted to the Home Secretary on 15 October. They also told us that they had wanted it to come out as quickly as possible and did not know why it had not been published until today. They said that the timing of its publication had been nothing to do with them. The Home Secretary has a track record of delaying reports that she is concerned about. Why did it take so long to bring this one out?

[Mrs May]

I cannot recall whether the hon. Gentleman was in the Chamber when I made my statement on the child abuse panel inquiry last week. I suspect that he was—

[Dr Huppert]

indicated assent.

[Mrs May]

The hon. Gentleman is assiduous in attending the Chamber when matters relating to Home Affairs are being discussed. I made it clear then that I did not want to publish this report on the same day as the statement, and that I wanted to publish it later. I said that I would publish it this week, and I have kept that commitment to the House. Also, when I receive a report it is important that I read and consider it. As a result of having done so, I asked a number of questions of officials. That has resulted—this answers part of the question asked by the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz)—in my writing today to Peter Wanless to indicate that I would like him and Richard Whittam to give a reassurance about the extent to which they were able to reassure themselves that the police had dealt appropriately with matters that were handed over to them. The reason I have done that is simple: I do not want a situation where people simply say, “The Home Office can absolve itself of responsibility because it handed things to the police.” We want to make sure that those allegations were dealt with appropriately, and I think it is entirely right that I have written to them for reassurance on that.