PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LEGISLATION, PUBLICLY-FUNDED BODIES AND THE ROYAL FAMILY (26 May 2015)

That this House believes that the right of the British taxpayer to know what their money is being spent on should be prioritised over commercial confidentiality or the confidentiality of the Royal Family; further believes that commercial confidentiality should not apply to contracts with for-profit companies to supply public services, such as health services, that are paid for with public money; calls for all such publicly-funded contracts to be automatically placed in the public domain and to be subject to freedom of information legislation; believes that the Supreme Court was correct to order the publication of correspondence between HRH the Prince of Wales and the Government; is extremely concerned at the undemocratic and unaccountable decision by the Government that future correspondence between members of the Royal Family and the Government should be excluded from freedom of information legislation; believes that institutions, including the Royal Family, which are publicly-funded and which exert an influence on Government policy should be publicly accountable; further believes that wealth and power should always be subjected to proper public scrutiny; and calls on the Government to support this principle.

Sponsored by:
Mr Roger Godsiff (Labour)