It seems we’re far from alone in objecting to government by last-minute ministerial statement. From the BBC yesterday:
The number of written statements issued by the government in the final days before Parliament’s summer recess has angered opposition parties. With more than 100 statements published on the eve of the 76-day holiday, shadow Commons leader Theresa May said it showed “disdain” for MPs. The Lib Dems said the government’s reluctance to share information at an earlier stage bred suspicion.
But Commons leader Harriet Harman said the timing was for “practical” reasons.
…Ms May said the timing raised suspicions that bad news was being buried
Surely not? What the BBC doesn’t mention is that the decision to turn eCAF into a national database represents far more than a delay in answering questions. It is a fundamental policy shift.
The government had pushed through the ContactPoint regulations by apparently accepting concerns about security and potential Article 8 breaches, and offering assurances that ContactPoint will contain only minimal information on each child.
Even while that they were parroting these assurances to both Houses during debate last week, they were planning to create another system to hold monstrous levels of personal detail about children using public services. This isn’t burying bad news. It’s taking the mickey. I wonder if anyone sniggered as they published the statement?
The ARCH Blog 