Freedom of information : government's proposals for reform
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Bibliographic Information
Freedom of information : government's proposals for reform
（HC, 415 . Fourth report of session 2006-07）
Stationery Office, 2007
- Other Title
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Fourth report from the constitutional affairs committee : Freedom of information : government's proposals for reform : session 2006-07
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Note
"Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence"
"Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 12 June 2007"
"Published on 24 June 2007 by authority of the House of Commons"
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The Freedom of Information 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 GBP 600 for central government and GBP 450 for other public authorities, based on a set rate of GBP 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 examines the Governments proposals to change this system, which seek to include reading time, consideration and consulation 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.The 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; and 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.
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