Health and Social Care Act 2012: Risk Register

Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I am sure the noble Lord would expect me to say that hypothetical situations are not in my domain, and that is true in this case. The Government’s position is that there is a balance to be struck between transparency of activity in government and the safe space required for effective policy-making. That is why, in November 2011, I laid out for this House a comprehensive list of the areas covered by the transition risk register, but also why, at the same time, the Government decided to withhold publication of the register itself.

[Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames (LD)]

My Lords, my noble friend will well remember the concerns of my party on this issue in 2012. I wonder whether he considers now, two years after the Act, that even if the private advice of civil servants should retain protection, the factual information in the register could now be published. That would enable everyone to monitor how the Act is working against what was predicted in 2012.

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, it is possible to monitor how the Act is working without publishing the risk register. It is quite true that the transition to the new commissioning system is over. However, the risk register related expressly to the implementation of the reforms and the system is still bedding down. Therefore, we are still of the view that it is inappropriate to publish the register.