Letter to committee on standards
Letter from committee 19 08 03
Letter to DeCAf august
Letter to DeCAf september
Letter from Mr Fiddler 10 10 03
Letter to DeCAf October 15th
Letter to DeCAf 29 10 03
Letter to Prime M 31 07 03
Letter to Prime M 04 11 03

Sir Nigel Wicks GCB, CVO, CBE

19"' August 2003

Dear Mr Clarke,

Thank you for your letter to Sir Nigel Wicks, dated July 18 2003. Unfortunately, as Victoria Williams pointed out to you in her letter of August 7, it was wrongly addressed to the House of Commons and only arrived here on August 6.

Sir Nigel Wicks has now read your letter with interest and care and has asked me to reply. The Committee on Standards in Public Life is mandated to look at general issues of "current concern" relating to the standards of propriety of public office holders. I therefore regret that the questions you raise largely fall outside our remit.

You asked whether Departments are required to comply with the Code of Practice on Written Consultation (Cabinet Office, November 2000). This Code is binding on UK Departments "unless Ministers conclude that exceptional circumstances require a departure."

You also ask that the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) "look into the behaviour of the [former Lord Chancellor's Department] Ministers responsible for this consultation document" on the Criminal Defence Service to investigate why consultation criteria 5 was not kept to. As I explained above the mandate of CSPL prevents it from investigating individual cases like the length of consultation in a particular instance or, later in your letter, about alleged untruths in published documents. Questions like these need to raised with the Department concerned (in this case the new Department for Constitutional Affairs) or if maladministration is alleged with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration through your Member of Parliament.

I am sorry not to be able to be more helpful.

Yours sincerely

Robert Behrens
sectretary

Members: Sir Anthony Cleaver, Rita Donaghy OBE, Lord Goodhart QC, Frances Heaton, The Rt Hon Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market OBE, Rabbi Julia Neuberger, The Rt Hon Chris Smith MP Secretary: Robert Behrens