1.5 Publication of NHS reform risk register

Risk registers may take various forms, but the information they contain can

sometimes be extremely sensitive. In 2012 the UK government discussed

whether or not to release the full risk register that had been created for the

highly controversial reform of the National Health Service. The health secretary,

Andrew Lansley, told parliament in May 2012 that only an edited

version of this document would be made available, on the principle that

civil servants should be able to use 'direct language and frank assessments'

when giving advice to ministers. Lansley argued that if this advice were

to be released routinely then 'future risk registers [would] become anodyne

documents of little use.' The net result would be that 'Potential risks

would be more likely to develop without adequate mitigation. That would

be detrimental to good government and very much against the public interest.'

Using this example as an illustration, discuss whether there is a tension

between realistic assessment of risk and the openness that may be implicit

in a risk register.