Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 19 February (HL4743), whether they continue to adhere to the guidance set out in Chapter 1 of the Public Inquiries Handbook (Guidance for Sponsor Departments), as published on the House of Lords Select Committee on the Inquiries Act 2005 website as it was on 8 August 2012, which advises that Permanent Secretaries should, under certain circumstances, issue written assurances that no information officials provide to an inquiry will be used against them in later disciplinary proceedings; and, whether they will lay a copy of the current version in the Library of the House.

The position on written assurances is as set out in the previous answer (HL4743).

In our response to the recommendations of the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee, published on 10 February, the Government has committed to publish guidance on inquiries.