Member

The overall impact of these amendments is to expand the application of the covenant to all public authorities, not just those falling under the direct authority of a Minister of the Crown. It would be useful if the Minister could tell the Committee why the Government opted for the language in the Bill, rather than looking to similar existing Acts with existing definitions, for their legislative purpose. As I have said, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 both apply to the wider public sector and, as such, those Acts have a broader definition of “national authority” than that in the Bill. I would also be grateful if he could clarify exactly which bodies the Ministry of Defence believes would be subject to the covenant if the Bill were kept as is. If the Government acknowledge that key public bodies will be excluded from the legal duty, I hope they will be willing to engage with me before Report and come up with an appropriate government amendment to rectify this omission. If not, I have to indicate that I may be minded to push these amendments to a division.