Adam I, Editor
KIRKSTALL – The Ruling Council earlier today passed the landmark Freedom of Information Act 2024, giving all full citizens the right to request certain information from the government and other public authorities.
The bill, which was originally proposed by the Liberal-Moderates as far back as 2020, featured in the party’s winning 2022 manifesto, and its passage marks the completion of the government’s legislative agenda. The Act, written by the Emperor and formally tabled by Prime Minister Lord Charles Michael, outlines the procedures by which the Ministry of Citizenship and Information should respond to FoI requests, and lists various exemptions, such as national security and personal privacy.
An amendment was proposed by the Leader of the Opposition Lord James Green to remove the Imperial Parliament as a public authority listed under the bill, with the Radical Left Party leader arguing that the line’s inclusion could limit the ability of Council members to speak freely in a closed setting. The Emperor explained that the intent of the inclusion of the Ruling Council in the bill was to cover information such as attendance stats and voting records, and that private Ruling Council discussions would be covered by other exemptions. After a brief back-and-forth between the government and the official opposition facilitated by the Emperor, a revised amendment was tabled by Lord Green which added an explicit exemption to FoI requests for the Ruling Council when it is sitting in closed business. This amendment was passed last night by 3 votes to 1, with government ministers voting with Lord Green in favour, whilst only Lord Callum Gurr, acting co-leader of Storm, voted against the amendment. Today, Council members from all parties voted for the whole bill as amended, passing it by 5 votes to 0, and it was subsequently signed into law by the Emperor.
The Ruling Council has passed six Acts over the course of XI Legislature
Other bills passed over the course of XI Legislature have included the Government Ministries and Agencies Act 2023, which, in March 2023, abolished the Ministry of Social Engagement and Joy, merging some of its cultural functions into the Ministry of National Development, now renamed as the Ministry of National Development & Culture. It also merged the Imperial Companies Agency and the National Employment Agency into a new Economic Development Agency, and turned the Adammic Weather Office into a sub-department of the Adammic Imperial Space Agency. Later, in May 2023, the Policy Act 2023 was passed, which set out an official process by which government departments can formally promulgate executive policy, including binding “State Policy” which has to be passed by the Ruling Council. So far, no policies have been enacted under this Act, but it is understood that both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence are working on draft policy documents.
Last September, the Economy and Public Finance Act 2023 was passed, which set out a rigorous definition of gross domestic product and completely revamped the procedures for raising and spending public money. Then, last December, the only in-person Ruling Council meeting of 2023 took place, held as part of UBLD’s Christmas reunion at the Country Girl pub in Selly Oak, made famous for being the site of the 2019 constitutional settlement and just a stone’s throw from the former province of Serkatia. At that meeting, a further two bills were passed: first was Deputy PM Sir Ned Hilton’s proposal to set out Adammia’s position on the ongoing situation in Gaza, officially endorsing a two-state solution by recognising both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine. Although Adammia has historically refrained from taking a position on the conflict by not recognising either state (which former PM Lord Saunders once jocularly referred to as a “no-state solution”), the events of the past few months seem to have galvanised at least some Adammic politicians. Although there were some suggestions that the bill could refer to particular borders historically endorsed by the United Nations, the consensus was quickly reached that the matter of borders was entirely to the relevant parties to resolve and beyond the scope of any Adammic position on the matter. The second bill passed that night was the Land Value Taxation Act 2023, which lays the groundwork for a nominal land value tax in accordance with the Georgist principles that the Lib-Mods formally adopted back in 2022.
With the government’s legislative agenda having been completed and almost eighteen months having passed since the last general election, anticipation is starting to build for the next election. Although the upcoming local elections in the UK, and the ever-looming threat of the UK’s own eventual general election, represent natural barriers to when the Adammic election might come, the fact that the Liberal-Moderates have pencilled in the weekend of the 20th/21st April for their annual conference suggests that the Emperor is planning on calling an election sooner rather than later. Next weekend, citizens will gather in Imperial City for Adammia’s eleventh Foundation Day celebrations, at which the Emperor will make one of his three regular annual speeches, and citizens can probably expect to hear more about the election cycle when he takes to the podium after the Grand National.
Adammic Express 