Government blocks evidence session with Cabinet Secretary
The Government have blocked the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, and Government ethics chief, Darren Tierney, from appearing before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday 24 May.
- Inquiry: Propriety of governance in light of Greensill
- Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
The session was confirmed several weeks ago as part of the Committee’s inquiry into the propriety of governance in light of Greensill. It was due to discuss the management of conflicts of interest and unregulated appointments in the Civil Service, the Downing Street parties and the recent announcement on the Government’s intention to reduce the size of the Civil Service by almost 100,000 jobs.
The Committee has been told by officials that ministerial approval for the Cabinet Secretary to give evidence on Tuesday has been pulled. The session will not take place on 24 May and has been rescheduled for the 28 June.
Chair of PACAC William Wragg MP said: “The session with the Cabinet Secretary was an important one considering the number of propriety and ethics issues on the agenda. We had also hoped to get clarity on the Government’s plans for civil service reform, public scrutiny of which was much needed after they were briefed to the press last weekend.
“The intervention to pull the session at such short notice evades timely parliamentary scrutiny of these plans and puts government transparency in a poor light.”