This is unique. Hansard, the official record of Parliament in England, will now be offering corrections to the record for errors made by ministers. From a Press Association report (not online):
Hansard, the
Official Record of Parliament, is to have a dedicated corrections
column for ministerial slip-ups, Commons leader Jack Straw announced
today.
The measure was recommended by
the Commons’ procedure committee and will initially apply only to
Commons Hansard, but authorities in the Lords may decide to follow suit.
The corrections will appear in both the hard copy and online version.
Outlining
the move to MPs, Mr Straw said: “It is not satisfactory, it is not
satisfactory for the ministers concerned either, that corrections to
the record are scattered through Hansard or to be found in the library,
for those who can scurry through letters there.
"The
proposal is for a dedicated section of Hansard for corrections by
ministers in respect of any proceedings whether they are oral or
written which take place in this House and cross-referencing with the
original error."
The innovation is expected to come into force in the next session.
Mr
Straw was responding to Tory Greg Knight (Yorkshire E) who protested:
“A number of ministers who inadvertently mislead the House still
adhere to the obscure and unsatisfactory practice of putting a
correcting letter in the library – which of course nobody sees.”
Hansard,
a Commons department independent of the Government and Civil Service,
produces edited verbatim report of proceedings in both Houses…
