Proposals for freedom of information reform
reviewed
Summary
The Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000 came into force
in January 2005, providing a general right of access to information held by
public authorities in the UK.
The current charging scheme for handling
FoI requests is £600 for central government and £450 for other public
authorities, based on a set rate of £25 per hour for officials' time. Where the
estimated cost is below the limit, the information is provided free of charge,
but when the limit is exceeded, the public authority can either provide the
information for a charge or refuse to provide the information on grounds of
lack of cost-effectiveness.
The Committee's report
‘Freedom
of information: Government's proposals for reform‘ (HC 415) examines the
Governments proposals to change this system, which seek to include reading
time, consideration and consultation time in the calculation of time spent
towards the appropriate limit to aggregate non-similar requests made by any
person or persons apparently acting together.
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How does it affect me?
If you are
interested in the management of FoI requests, this affects you.
Findings
include:
- The Government has not shown that it adequately reviewed
whether the existing charging regime balanced public access rights with the
needs of public authorities to deliver services effectively, before deciding to
restrict public access rights further
- The cost-benefit analysis
prepared by the DCA to support the proposed regime is insufficient
- There is a lack of evidence to show that the new charging regime would be
transparent and subject to adequate review, or how such a review process would
operate.
As a result, the proposed regime could result in public
authorities avoiding answers to embarrassing, contentious or high-profile cases
as the number of internal consultees rises in proportion to the sensitivity of
particular requests.
The Committee is not convinced of the Government's
proposals to change access rights and recommends that the Ministry of Justice
should focus on improving compliance with the existing provisions of the FOI
Act.
Any future proposed changes to the charging regime must be
supported by a firm evidence base and take proper account of the impact they
would have on the benefits which the public derive from FOI.
Find out more about
the work of the
House
of Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee.
See more on FoI policy
on the Department for Constitutional
Affairs website.