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Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 28: 28: Clause 4, page 5, line 4, at end insert— ““( ) provision for securing the admission, so far as practicable, of the public (including the press) to all meetings of the body subject to such provisions as the Secretary of State may determine to enable the body to exclude the public by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted; ( ) provision for securing public access to copies of the body’s agenda items, reports and minutes, subject to such provisions as the Secretary of State may determine to enable the body to restrict such access on the grounds that an agenda item, report or minute contains material of a confidential nature.”” The noble Baroness said: This is the last of my amendments on the subject. It is, however, a very serious one. It would provide for openness and transparency, which I mentioned in our debates on a couple of earlier amendments, by requiring provision for the public conduct of business and public access to agendas and minutes, obviously with exemptions for confidential business. This is a matter of principle, but it is also a practical matter. The more that business is done behind closed doors, the harder it is to keep the trust and confidence of the public and of those concerned. I try to avoid the word ““stakeholders””, but I always find myself using it. Public access is a fundamental element of open governance. Without it, it is that much harder for stakeholders to engage with the body, and it makes scrutiny considerably harder. As I know from sad experience, one finds oneself reduced to having rather petty arguments about access and publication instead of the real, substantial issues. I beg to move.