Friday 4 January 2013

Questions, Questions, Questions

Lots on for me today complying with regulations imposed on us for the temerity of having won a new contract. But please do go read the latest article at the Hands Off Our Packs blog, where yesterday's revelations - plus a new development in the dog's breakfast of a plain packaging consultation - are described in detail.

I was particularly intrigued by this bit.
We should not allow our cynicism to cloud what has actually happened here. A minister has clearly had a meeting with a parliamentary group, attended by the anti-smoking group ASH, in the midst of a consultation on plain packaging of tobacco. 
Again questions have to be asked. Were minutes taken at this meeting? What items were discussed? Most important, was the topic of plain packaging raised and discussed?
My FOI fingers are getting itchy at the very thought of it.
Playing fancy footwork with the rules cannot surely allow a meeting of this nature to take place and pass unreported otherwise any meeting can likewise be hidden from public scrutiny.
That may very well be the point of the whole cloak and dagger exercise.


1 comment:

Steve Shepherd said...

One wonders if within the Civil Service there has been added 2 little letters of the alphabet to describe what they truly now believe they are? Those 2 little letters are 't' & 'o' and hence 'Civil to Servants' ... we are, without doubt, viewed and indeed treated as the servants and must therefore accept whatever they say without question. All done very civilly of course. Alas, my reply to them would never be seen as 'civil'.