Ministers
deny that they plan to increase charges for complying with FOIA requests in
an attempt to curb freedom of information.
The department for constitutional affairs (DCA) has made the denial
in evidence submitted to a parliamentary committee.
However, it pointed out that ministers had publicly committed to reviewing
the fees by June. And it fell short of denying any plan to increase charges
in order to meet any aim other than deterring requests.
MPs are to question a DCA minister, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, over
the future for ‘freedom of information’ in the UK. She is due
to give evidence on April 18 to the constitutional affairs committee as it
reviews the first year of full implementation of the freedom of information
act (FOIA) in the UK.
In evidence published by parliament, but subject to corrections, the
DCA said: “Contrary to media reports, the government has no ‘secret
plan’ to introduce deterrent fees. The purpose of any potential review
will be to ensure that FOIA is working well and that the fees regime continues
to balance public-access rights with the needs of public authorities to deliver
services effectively.”
However, it said that it was planning to tighten the restriction on
how much time public bodies must spend on a FOIA request. Under current rules,
a central government department can refuse a request if the cost to the authority
for complying exceeds £600, including staff hours spent locating and
retrieving the relevant information, but not the time they spend reviewing
it.
“The government is therefore currently conducting an exercise
to assess the time taken by officials to process requests, including activities
that do not currently fall within the £600 appropriate limit, such as
time spent reading the relevant information.”
Earlier this month, MPs on the parliamentary sel-ect committee questioned
the information commissioner, Richard Thomas, over how FOIA has been regulated
in the UK.
They have also had evidence from Lord Lester on his experience of using
FOIA to find out the date on which the government first sought and obtained
legal advice on invading Iraq.
His journey to uncover this basic fact, concerning a subject of huge
public interest, albeit of great sensitivity to the government, was ultimately
successful but torturous.
The committee has also had evidence from the BBC, both as a requestor
and as a public body that is itself subject to FOIA. The BBC produced a list
of revelatory stories that its journalists have obtained using FOIA in the
UK.
The committee’s specific areas of inquiry are: the information
commissioner’s role; requestors’ and public bodies’ experiences;
and the role of the DCA, including its ‘clearing house’ for requests
to central government departments.
Comment
on this article
What’s
up with the information commissioner?
Lord
Lester’s battle for date of legal advice on Iraq
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unveils the stories it found through FOIA
‘We’re
trying our best and we’re getting tougher’
Headlines
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