Ministers have been accused of hypocrisy for allegedly trying to cover up their attendance in parliament, after an attempt was launched to block the information being released. Despite government departments being closely monitored to ensure civil servants are back in the office amid a crackdown on remote working, Jacob Rees-Mogg led a pushback against data being published about the number of days when MPs use their work passes. His campaign was backed by Mark Spencer, leader of the House of Commons, who met the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, this week to make clear it was “not acceptable that this data is released or stored”. Spencer said that an “urgent assessment” would be conducted into whether the information should be released under freedom of information laws, which require public bodies to disclose data they hold. In an effort to force the Commons to change tack, Spencer said the government would seek to change the rules to limit the keeping of such data to a maximum of seven days. Given public bodies have 30 days to respond to freedom of information requests, the move could make information about pass use unobtainable. Spencer said it was still important the data was held for a week for “security and fire reasons to know who is on the estate”. But he added: “No member was ever consulted or asked about storing this data. We will act quickly to resolve the situation.” Government sources said the Commons authorities had acquiesced without being forced to change the rules, but that the threat of a motion remained “as a backstop”. However, the Commons denied that was true. A spokesperson said that “for reasons of security and health and safety, data on the usage of all categories of parliamentary pass is collected and stored in accordance with” data protection laws. The pushback by Spencer and Rees-Mogg still sparked accusations of hypocrisy. An unimpressed Conservative MP said that “the man who wants to know which civil servants are in the office doesn’t want people to know which MPs are”. Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokesperson, told the Guardian it was evidence of there being “one rule for the Conservatives and another for the rest of us”. She added: “Rees-Mogg bullies civil servants back to their desks, but uses all the power at his disposal to cover up his own attendance record at work. “It’s more staggering hypocrisy from this Conservative government. Be it breaking their own laws or failing to tackle the cost of living crisis, it’s clear that Rees-Mogg and his colleagues just don’t care.”
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, also said the “hypocrisy” of Rees-Mogg’s outrage at having his attendance in parliament monitored appeared to be “completely lost on him”. Penman continued: “As a senior public servant, he probably expects to be trusted to judge when it’s necessary and when it’s not to attend. “This is exactly how civil servants feel about his obsession on working from home and one-size-fits-all approach to dictating the number of days in the office.” Tory sources suggested some MPs might be reluctant about information on how many days they used their pass being released given it could cause embarrassment for those who have multiple other jobs and spend more time away from parliament.
However, those who supported blocking the release of such information said it was wrong to endanger their safety, given it could be used by would-be attackers and harassers to target particular MPs. One Tory backbencher said they had deliberately stopped wearing their pass around parliament in protest. Rees-Mogg derided the “lefty freedom of information request” and said MPs had “an absolute and ancient right of access” to parliament.