Good day to bury bad news

In the usual spirit of transparency and openness that the Government embraces before summer recess, ministers are today making a whopping 53 statements.

A ministerial statement is a big policy announcement from a particular department. On a usual day you might see five or even ten.

If you’re cynical you’d say the rush to spew out shed loads of news before recess is an attempt to hide some of the more controversial announcements in the ensuing kafuffle.

If not, then you might just say officials had been lazy and left it all to the last minute. I know what I think.

The effect is that some important announcements may not get the attention they deserve in the media.

Let’s look at some of those among the 53 coming out today:

Six from the Home Office – including one on intercept evidence and others on the annual reports of the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Identity and Passport Service.

Five from the Ministry of Justice – including one on reform of legal aid and another on Freedom of Information.

Nine from the Prime Minister’s office – including ministerial gifts, ministerial travel, official hospitality and one on special advisors.

Six from the Chancellor – including one on a tax law rewrite project and another on bank governance.

Oh, and don’t forget eco-towns.