Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish examples of any communications from Government departments to representatives of industries and companies which set conditions of non-disclosure before meetings between those representatives and Her Majesty's Government.

Many meetings between officials and suppliers regarding commercial matters are discussions relating to a specific contract. In this case, the confidentiality of any information exchanged is governed by clauses within the specific contract.

Where discussions cover topics related to more than one contract and relate to particularly sensitive matters or the exchange of commercially sensitive material those discussions may need the protection of a specific non-disclosure agreement. The Government Legal Department has recently produced a standard form of non-disclosure agreement which is recommended for use by Departments in these situations. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-disclosure-agreements