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Freedom Of Information
In January 2005 new legislation came into force giving you access to information held by government and other public bodies (the Freedom of Information Act 2000), as well as strengthening existing rights to environmental information (Environmental Information Regulations 2004).
These pages give you:
- News - May 2007;
- Documents on the Freedom of Information Act; and
- Guide to the Freedom of Information Act including how you can exercise your right to know under this legislation and links to further information and useful sources.
News - May 2007
Private Member’s Bill
A Private Member's Bill, introduced by Conservative MP David Maclean, seeks to remove Parliament from the scope of the FOI Act and create a new exemption for MPs' communications with public authorities. The Bill will have a second reading debate in the House of Lords on 21 June. Read more about the Campaign for Freedom of Information’s work in on the Bill.
Supplementary consultation on Draft Regulations that threaten Freedom of Information
In December 2006 The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) launched Draft Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate limit and Fees) Regulations 2007 to make it easier for public authorities to refuse Freedom of Information (FOI) requests on cost grounds.
NCVO and the Campaign for Freedom of Information raised concerns not only about the proposals themselves but also about the way in which they were developed and consulted on. Our Compact Advocacy Programme took on the case and, together with the Campaign for Freedom of Information and other voluntary sector organisations, campaigned for the consultation process to be meaningful and Compact compliant. In response to these concerns, a supplementary consultation paper was launched on 29 March 2007 by DCA.
The supplementary consultation which runs until 21 June 2007 seeks views on the proposals including:
- Do you agree that the FOI Fees Regulations should be amended to deal with the problem of disproportionately burdensome requests?
NCVO and the Campaign for Freedom of Information welcome this opportunity to influence the regulations themselves and encourage voluntary and community organisations to give their views.
Draft Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2007
At the moment an FOI request can be refused if the cost of dealing with it – locating, retrieving and extracting the required information – costs more than £600 for government departments, or £450 for other public authorities. The proposed changes will:
- Allow public authorities to include the time spent reading the material, consulting others and deciding whether to release it when calculating the cost of dealing with a request, meaning that many more requests will be refused on cost grounds in future.
- Allow all requests made to an authority by the same person or organisation to be refused if their combined cost exceeded the £600 or £450 limit.
These changes would severely curtail the ability of individuals, organisations and the media to hold government and other public authorities to account. For example it would make it harder for voluntary and community organisations to use the Freedom of Information Act as part of their campaigning and advocacy work.
NCVO has consistently opposed any increase in charges for FOI requests: our research, undertaken in collaboration with Ashridge Business School, has shown that many people have only a limited understanding of the Act and how it can be used to support campaigning.
In our view a lack of awareness or understanding of the legislation is a far greater concern than so-called ‘frivolous’ requests for information. The Act should be made more accessible, not less.
Read our latest press release. For further information about NCVO's work in this area, please contact Belinda Pratten or NCVO’s Campaigning Effectiveness Programme.
Documents
- Gitsham et al, 2006 Called to Account: the impact of the Freedom of Information Act (PDF 605Kb) Ashridge/NCVO
- NCVO's written evidence to the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act in its First Year.
Information and advice
