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Something you may have missed this week: 'Taking out the trash day' 
Every year before recess, the gov rushes out a host of policy documents, announcements and reports. The sheer number of stories and pre-holiday feeling means many receive little attention, or scrutiny
Every year before recess, the gov rushes out a host of policy documents, announcements and reports. The sheer number of stories and pre-holiday feeling means many receive little attention, or scrutiny
In the three days before MPs broke up for summer, Ministers tabled 39 written ministerial statements in the Commons, far more than normal.
None of this is new and the @instituteforgov have covered it before.
@GavinFreeguard wrote about it in 2017 https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/time-bin-take-out-trash-day
@GavinFreeguard wrote about it in 2017 https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/time-bin-take-out-trash-day
And I covered it again last year https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/taking-out-trash-day-alive-and-well
Some of the last minute rush is understandable - civil servants + ministers are keen to get things out before parliament goes into recess, especially when some papers can only be laid or published when parliament is sitting. But the rush can also weaken scrutiny and bury bad news
Some of the stories from this week you may have missed ( which have been picked up elsewhere), including in @DailyMirror
The gov announced that BNO passport holders in Hong Kong - who have been offered new visas in response to China's imposition of a new 'national security law' - will still have to pay full fees, which, as previous IfG work shows, can run to ÂŁ1000s https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-07-22/HCWS421/
The government also announced that the Cabinet Office will take over responsibility for use of government data from DCMS, which, as @GavinFreeguard has argued, has left a lot of qu unanswered and strengthens calls for a National Data Strategy https://twitter.com/GavinFreeguard/status/1285877801401430016
Another written ministerial statement outlined further costs for the much-delayed Crossrail project and mentioned a new funding package for Crossrail that is fair to UK taxpayers and acknowledges that London is the primary benefactor...
https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-07-20/HCWS389/
https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-07-20/HCWS389/
Nurses were also left out of pay rises announced for a range of public sector workers. The gov pointed to a separate 2018 pay deal, although some in the profession (such as Nurses United UK) have said that this still leaves nurses under rewarded https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pay-rises-for-doctors-police-and-more-in-the-public-sector
Parliamentary committees also led to some last minute revelations. The Housing, Communities and Local Gov committee evidence session with SoS Robert Jenrick put new focus on alleged political favours over the Westferry housing development https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/745/html/
Ultimately, taking out the trash day is bad for transparency, can allow policy announcements to go under scrutinised and policy failings to go unchecked. The fact that journalists, parliamentarians and gov have come to expect it doesnât mean it should be a permanent fixture.
There is plenty of time for bad (and good) news to be released throughout the year.
