Chamber
Plenary, 22 Feb 2007
22 Feb 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Point of Order
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I notified your office of this point of order, and I thank you for taking it.
At First Minister's questions today, in response to my question about blood products and the independent inquiry that has been announced, the First Minister asserted that no information had been withheld at the time of the proactive release of documents in relation to hepatitis C and the contamination of blood products. Perhaps the First Minister unwittingly misled Parliament, but I have in my possession correspondence from the Executive explaining why some documentation was withheld, one of the reasons being that it was appropriate to withhold it to allow
"the Scottish Administration to discuss and formulate policy with candour and frankness".
I also have the outcome of an appeal to the Scottish information commissioner, which found partly in my favour and partly in the Executive's favour on the ground of the costs of the release of the information. Clearly and incontrovertibly, information has been withheld. Could you advise me, Presiding Officer, on how I can get the First Minister to correct the facts and get a response to my question, which is whether he will hand over to the United Kingdom inquiry the information that has, up until now, been withheld?
At First Minister's questions today, in response to my question about blood products and the independent inquiry that has been announced, the First Minister asserted that no information had been withheld at the time of the proactive release of documents in relation to hepatitis C and the contamination of blood products. Perhaps the First Minister unwittingly misled Parliament, but I have in my possession correspondence from the Executive explaining why some documentation was withheld, one of the reasons being that it was appropriate to withhold it to allow
"the Scottish Administration to discuss and formulate policy with candour and frankness".
I also have the outcome of an appeal to the Scottish information commissioner, which found partly in my favour and partly in the Executive's favour on the ground of the costs of the release of the information. Clearly and incontrovertibly, information has been withheld. Could you advise me, Presiding Officer, on how I can get the First Minister to correct the facts and get a response to my question, which is whether he will hand over to the United Kingdom inquiry the information that has, up until now, been withheld?
In the same item of business
Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP):
SSP
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I notified your office of this point of order, and I thank you for taking it.At First Minister's questions today, in ...
The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
NPA
As I had advance notice of the point of order, I was able to look at a draft of the Official Report. You may find that the First Minister chose his words wit...