Freedom of Information Act 2000
Encyclopedia
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c.36) is an Act of Parliament
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation
in the United Kingdom
on a national level. The Act implements a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party
in the 1997 general election
, developed by Dr David Clark
as a 1997 White Paper. The final version of the Act is believed to have been diluted from that proposed while Labour was in opposition
. The full provisions of the act came into force on 1 January 2005.
The Act is the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor's Department
(now renamed the Ministry of Justice
). The Act led to the renaming of the Data Protection Commissioner
(set up to administer the Data Protection Act), who is now known as the Information Commissioner. The Office of the Information Commissioner oversees the operation of the Act.
A second freedom of information law is in existence in the UK, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
(asp 13). It was passed by the Scottish Parliament
in 2002, to cover public bodies over which the Holyrood parliament, rather than Westminster, has jurisdiction. For these institutions, it fulfils the same purpose as the 2000 Act.
Around 120,000 requests are made each year. Private citizens made 60% of them, with businesses and journalists accounting for 20% and 10% respectively. Journalists' requests took up more of officials' time than businesses' and individuals' requests. The Act cost £
35.5 million in 2005.
in the 1997 general election
. Before its introduction, there had been no right of access to government by the general public, merely a limited voluntary framework for sharing information.
. The white paper was met with widespread enthusiasm and was described at the time as being "almost too good to be true." by one advocate of freedom of information legislation. The final act was substantially more limited in scope than the initial white paper.
, a full list of "public authorities" for the purposes of the act is included in Schedule 1. Government departments, the Houses of Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly
, the Welsh Assembly, the armed forces, local government bodies, National Health Service bodies, schools, colleges and universities, police authorities and Chief Officers of Police are included within this list, which ranges from the Farm Animal Welfare Council to the Youth Council for Northern Ireland.
A few government departments are expressly excluded from the scope of the act, principally Intelligence services.
As government departments are closed and created, the act must be continually updated. s4 of the Act empowers the Secretary of State for constitutional affairs to add a body or officeholder to Schedule 1 as a public authority if they are created statute or prerogative; and its members are appointed by the government.
It is important to note that for some public authorities listed under Schedule 1 the act has limited effect. For example, the BBC is subject to the act only for information which is not held for the purposes of journalism, art or literature, to prevent its journalistic activities from possible compromise. The scope of this provision was considered in the recent High Court decision of BBC v Sugar an internal BBC document examining the BBC coverage of the Middle East for potential bias. The appellants in that case argued that the document had been produced for both operational and journalistic reasons, and so should not be covered by the partial exemption provided in the act. the High Court rejected this argument, Mr Justice Irwin considered that the meaning of journalism within the act meant that any information held for such purposes was covered by the exemption:
, the Financial Ombudsman Service
, and UCAS
However, there are numerous exemptions. Some of these are absolute bars to disclosure; some are qualified, which means the public authority has to decide whether the public interest in disclosing the relevant information outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemption. An applicant for information who considers that a request has been wrongly rejected may apply to the Information Commissioner, who has the power to order disclosure. However, such orders can be appealed to a specialist tribunal (the Information Tribunal
) and in some circumstances the Government has the power to override orders of the Information Commissioner.
Any person can request information under the act; this includes legal entities such as companies. There is no special format for a request. Applicants do not need to mention the act when making a request. Applicants do not have to give a reason for their request.
Qualified exemptions can be sub-divided into two further categories: class-based exemptions covering information in particular classes, and harm-based exemptions covering situation where disclosure of information would be liable to cause harm.
Under these exemptions the exemption applies (subject to the public interest test) if complying with the duty under s.1 would or would be likely to:
The Act came into force in phases, with the final "general right of access" to public information under the Act coming into force on 1 January 2005.
As well as the "general right of access", the Act places a duty on public authorities to adopt and maintain pro-active "publication schemes" for the routine release of important information (such as annual reports and accounts). These publication schemes must be approved by the Information Commissioner.
In general, public authorities have 20 working days to respond to an information request, though this deadline can be extended in certain cases and/or with the agreement of the requester. Under the Act, public authorities are encouraged to enter into a dialogue with the requester to better determine the information they want, and the format they want it in - in itself, a change in the way UK authorities interact with the public.
Requests can be refused if they cost more than £600, including time spent searching for files.
The UK Government established the Access to Information Central Clearing House
in order to ensure consistency across Central Government in the way requests are handled.
criticised the bill in the House of Lords as "toothless" for its inclusion of a provisions allowing ministers to veto applications.
By contrast, former prime minister Tony Blair
responsible for passing the Act as "One of the biggest mistakes of his career" . He says that "For political leaders, it's like saying to someone who is hitting you over the head with a stick, 'Hey, try this instead', and handing them a mallet. The information is neither sought because the journalist is curious to know, nor given to bestow knowledge on 'the people'. It's used as a weapon." Labour Peer Lord Falconer has criticised the use of the act by journalists for ""fishing expeditions" into salacious stories, arguing that: "…FoI is not for press it is for the people. It needs to be properly used in order to promote good Government. Information needs to be handled responsibly, and I strongly believe that there is a duty of responsibility on behalf of the media as well."
In the article Freedom of Information: A sheep in wolf's clothing? Rodney Austin offers the following criticisms of the substance of the Act:
The legislation has also been criticised for "loopholes" that allow authorities to avoid disclosing information in certain situations. Companies owned by one public authority are generally subject to the Act but companies owned by two or more public authorities are not covered
introduced to the British House of Commons
in 2007 which failed to become law. Conservative
MP David Maclean
introduced the bill to ensure that MPs' correspondence was exempt from freedom of information laws. The then leader of the Liberal Democrats
, Sir Menzies Campbell
, said there should not "be one law for MPs and a different law for everyone else" and that it looked like "Parliament has something to hide". However, this failed to pass the first reading in the House of Lords.
Further to this, Lord Falconer made comments suggesting that time spent deciding whether or not information fell under an exemption clause should be included in the £600 cost limit. Consultation was carried out, with the government saying the change would cut costs and discourage requests for trivial information, although critics said that it was to keep embarrassing information secret.
Act
Act may mean:* Act/Power is a philosophical notion defined by Aristotle and known as entelechy* Act , a British band* Act , a document recording the legality of a transaction or contract...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation
Freedom of information legislation
Freedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on a national level. The Act implements a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, developed by Dr David Clark
David Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere
David George Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere PC DL is a British Labour politician, former cabinet minister and author.-Education and early career:...
as a 1997 White Paper. The final version of the Act is believed to have been diluted from that proposed while Labour was in opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
. The full provisions of the act came into force on 1 January 2005.
The Act is the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor's Department
Lord Chancellor's Department
The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales....
(now renamed the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...
). The Act led to the renaming of the Data Protection Commissioner
Data Protection Commissioner
In Ireland, the Data Protection Commissioner is the person responsible for the enforcement and monitoring of compliance with data protection legislation, including the Data Protection Acts, 1988-2003. He is also responsible for investigating breaches of the legislation and prosecuting the senders...
(set up to administer the Data Protection Act), who is now known as the Information Commissioner. The Office of the Information Commissioner oversees the operation of the Act.
A second freedom of information law is in existence in the UK, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
The Freedom of Information Act 2002 was an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 2002. It covers public bodies over which the Scottish Parliament has jurisdiction, fulfilling a similar purpose to the UK-level Freedom of Information Act 2000...
(asp 13). It was passed by the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
in 2002, to cover public bodies over which the Holyrood parliament, rather than Westminster, has jurisdiction. For these institutions, it fulfils the same purpose as the 2000 Act.
Around 120,000 requests are made each year. Private citizens made 60% of them, with businesses and journalists accounting for 20% and 10% respectively. Journalists' requests took up more of officials' time than businesses' and individuals' requests. The Act cost £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
35.5 million in 2005.
Background
The act implements what was a manifesto commitment of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
. Before its introduction, there had been no right of access to government by the general public, merely a limited voluntary framework for sharing information.
The white paper
The act was preceded by a 1998 white paper, entitled "Your Right to Know" by Dr David ClarkDavid Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere
David George Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere PC DL is a British Labour politician, former cabinet minister and author.-Education and early career:...
. The white paper was met with widespread enthusiasm and was described at the time as being "almost too good to be true." by one advocate of freedom of information legislation. The final act was substantially more limited in scope than the initial white paper.
Parliamentary debate
Following the white paper, a draft bill was published in May 1999, the act was extensively debated in the House of Commons and the House of Lords and received royal assent in November 2000Applicability
The Freedom of Information Act creates a statutory right for access to information in relation to bodies that exercise functions of a public nature, three different kinds of bodies are covered under the act. Public Authorities, publicly owned companies and designated bodies performing public functions.Public authorities
In principle, the freedom of information act applies to all "public authorities" within the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, a full list of "public authorities" for the purposes of the act is included in Schedule 1. Government departments, the Houses of Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
, the Welsh Assembly, the armed forces, local government bodies, National Health Service bodies, schools, colleges and universities, police authorities and Chief Officers of Police are included within this list, which ranges from the Farm Animal Welfare Council to the Youth Council for Northern Ireland.
A few government departments are expressly excluded from the scope of the act, principally Intelligence services.
As government departments are closed and created, the act must be continually updated. s4 of the Act empowers the Secretary of State for constitutional affairs to add a body or officeholder to Schedule 1 as a public authority if they are created statute or prerogative; and its members are appointed by the government.
Hybrid public authorities
It is important to note that for some public authorities listed under Schedule 1 the act has limited effect. For example, the BBC is subject to the act only for information which is not held for the purposes of journalism, art or literature, to prevent its journalistic activities from possible compromise. The scope of this provision was considered in the recent High Court decision of BBC v Sugar an internal BBC document examining the BBC coverage of the Middle East for potential bias. The appellants in that case argued that the document had been produced for both operational and journalistic reasons, and so should not be covered by the partial exemption provided in the act. the High Court rejected this argument, Mr Justice Irwin considered that the meaning of journalism within the act meant that any information held for such purposes was covered by the exemption:
My conclusion is that the words in the Schedule mean the BBC has no obligation to disclose information which they hold to any significant extent for the purposes of journalism, art or literature, whether or not the information is also held for other purposes. The words do not mean that the information is disclosable if it is held for purposes distinct from journalism, art or literature, whilst it is also held to any significant extent for those listed purposes. If the information is held for mixed purposes, including to any significant extent the purposes listed in the Schedule or one of them, then the information is not disclosable.
Publicly owned companies
Companies that fall within the definition of a publicly owned company under s6 of the Act automatically fall within its grasp. S6 provides that a company is publicly owned if:- (a) it is wholly owned by the Crown, or
- (b) it is wholly owned by any public authority listed in Schedule 1 other than
- (i) a government department, or
- (ii) any authority which is listed only in relation to particular information.
Designated bodies
Under s5 of the act the Secretary of State may designate further bodies as public authorities under the act, provided that those bodies are exercising a function of a public nature or contracting to provide a service whose provision is a function of a public authority. As of June 2010 no such designations had yet been made, but the Ministry of Justice has issued a consultation paper proposing to use s.5 to extend the list of public authorities to include: academy schools, the Association of Chief Police OfficersAssociation of Chief Police Officers
The Association of Chief Police Officers , established in 1948, is a private limited company that leads the development of policing practice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.ACPO provides a forum for chief police officers to share ideas and coordinates the strategic...
, the Financial Ombudsman Service
Financial Ombudsman Service
The United Kingdom's Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman established in 2001 as a result of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based businesses providing financial services, such as banks, building societies, insurance companies,...
, and UCAS
UCAS
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is the British admission service for students applying to university and college. UCAS is primarily funded by students who pay a fee when they apply and a capitation fee from universities for each student they accept..-Location:UCAS is based near...
Right of Access
The act creates a general right of access, on request, to information held by public authorities. On receipt of a freedom of information claim a public authority has two corresponding duties. First, a duty to inform a member of the public whether or not it holds the information requested (s1(1)(a)), and second if it does hold that information, to communicate it to the person making that request (s1(1)(b)). As the collary to this, the Act thus grants the equivalent rights to a confirmation or denial and communication of relevant information to an individual making a request under the act. The basic duty is supplemented by an additional duty to aid individuals in making requests and ensuring that they frame their FOI requests appropriately. (s.16(1))However, there are numerous exemptions. Some of these are absolute bars to disclosure; some are qualified, which means the public authority has to decide whether the public interest in disclosing the relevant information outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemption. An applicant for information who considers that a request has been wrongly rejected may apply to the Information Commissioner, who has the power to order disclosure. However, such orders can be appealed to a specialist tribunal (the Information Tribunal
Information Tribunal
The Information Tribunal was a tribunal non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It was established as the Data Protection Tribunal to hear appeals under the Data Protection Act 1984...
) and in some circumstances the Government has the power to override orders of the Information Commissioner.
Any person can request information under the act; this includes legal entities such as companies. There is no special format for a request. Applicants do not need to mention the act when making a request. Applicants do not have to give a reason for their request.
Exemptions
Although the Act covers a wide range of government information, the act contains a variety of provisions that provide for the exemption from disclosure of certain types of information. The act contains two forms of exemption. "Absolute" exemptions that are not subject to any public interest assessment, they act as absolute bars to the disclosure of information and "qualified" exemptions where a public interest test must be made, balancing the public interest in maintaining the exemption against the public interest in disclosing the information. The original government white paper on the freedom of information act proposed only seven such exemptions, but the final bill included 24.Absolute exemptions
Exemptions designated "absolute exemptions" have no public interest test attached, the act contains eight such exemptions:- Information that is accessible by other means (s.21)
- Information relating to or dealing with security matters (s.23)
- Information contained in court records (s.32)
- Where disclosure of the information would infringe parliamentary privilege (s.34)
- Information held by the House of Commons or the House of Lords, where disclosure would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs (s.36). (Information that is not held by the Commons or Lords falling under s.36 is subject to the public interest test)
- Information which (a) the applicant could obtain under the Data Protection Act 1998; or (b) where release would breach the data protection principles. (s.40)
- Information provided in confidence (s.41)
- When disclosing the information is prohibited by an enactment; incompatible with an EU obligation; or would commit a contempt of court (s.44)
Qualified exemptions
If information falls within a qualified exemption, it must be subject to a public interest test. Thus, a decision on the application of a qualified exemption operates in two stages. First, a public authority must determine whether or not information is covered by an exemption and then, even if it is covered, the authority must disclose the information unless the application of a public interest test indicated that the public interest favours non-disclosure.Qualified exemptions can be sub-divided into two further categories: class-based exemptions covering information in particular classes, and harm-based exemptions covering situation where disclosure of information would be liable to cause harm.
Class-based exemptions
- Information intended for future publication (s.22)
- Information which does not fall within s. 23(1) is exempt if required for the purpose of safeguarding national security (s.24)
- Information held for purposes of investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities (s.30)
- Information relating to the formation of government policy, ministerial communications, advice from government legal officers, and the operation of any ministerial private office (s.35)
- Information that relates to communications with members of the Royal family, and conferring honours (s.37)
- Prevents overlap between FoI Act and regulations requiring disclosure of environmental information (s.39)
- Information covered by professional legal privilege (s.42)
- Trade secrets (s.43(1))
Harm-based exemptions
Under these exemptions the exemption applies (subject to the public interest test) if complying with the duty under s.1 would or would be likely to:
- Prejudice defence or the capability, effectiveness or security of any relevant forces (s.26)
- Prejudice international relations (s.27)
- Prejudice relations between any administration in the United Kingdom and any other such administration (s.28)
- Prejudice the economic interests of the UK (s.29)
- Prejudice law enforcement (e.g., prevention of crime or administration of justice, etc.) (s.31)
- Prejudice the auditing functions of any public authorities (s.33)
- In the reasonable opinion of a qualified person: prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs; prejudice collective responsibility; or inhibit the free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views (s.36)
- Endanger physical or mental health, or endanger the safety of the individual (s.38)
- Prejudice commercial interests (s.43(2))
Vexatious requests
A public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if the request is vexatious.(s14(1)) A request is considered vexatious if it is ‘obsessive or manifestly unreasonable,’ harasses the authority or causes distress to its staff, imposes a significant burden, or if the request lacks any serious value.Implementing the act
The Act affects over 100,000 public bodies including government departments, schools and councils.The Act came into force in phases, with the final "general right of access" to public information under the Act coming into force on 1 January 2005.
As well as the "general right of access", the Act places a duty on public authorities to adopt and maintain pro-active "publication schemes" for the routine release of important information (such as annual reports and accounts). These publication schemes must be approved by the Information Commissioner.
In general, public authorities have 20 working days to respond to an information request, though this deadline can be extended in certain cases and/or with the agreement of the requester. Under the Act, public authorities are encouraged to enter into a dialogue with the requester to better determine the information they want, and the format they want it in - in itself, a change in the way UK authorities interact with the public.
Requests can be refused if they cost more than £600, including time spent searching for files.
The UK Government established the Access to Information Central Clearing House
Access to Information Central Clearing House
The Access to Information Central Clearing House was established by the UK Government in January 2005. The Central Clearing House's was set up to ensure consistent application of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and the Environmental Information Regulations ...
in order to ensure consistency across Central Government in the way requests are handled.
Unusual features
Three features of the UK Freedom of Information Act deserve special mention, as they differ from the position in many other countries.- Requests by individuals for access to their own personal information are dealt with outside the act for most practical purposes. They are dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998 once it has been determined that the exemption for first party personal data is engaged, although some key provisions remain applicable e.g. the right of complaint to the Information Commissioner.
- Requests for information about matters concerning the environment are dealt with by the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Those regulations, while similar to the FOIA, do differ in a number of ways.
- There is no procedure whereby third parties can challenge a decision by a public authority to disclose information: for instance, if a commercial organisation provides information to a public authority, and the authority discloses that information in response to an FOI Act request, the commercial organisation has no right of appeal against that decision. By contrast, "reverse FOI" applications of this type are common in the U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Reception
At the time of the passing of the Act, advocates of freedom of information legislation were critical of the bill for its complexity, limited scope and the inclusion of a ministerial veto. Lord MackayLord Mackay
Lord Mackay may refer to 2 Scottish judges:* Donald Mackay, Lord Mackay of Drumadoon * James Mackay, Lord Mackay of Clashfern -See also:* Lord Reay* John MacKay, Baron MacKay of Ardbrecknish* Ronald Mackay, Lord Eassie...
criticised the bill in the House of Lords as "toothless" for its inclusion of a provisions allowing ministers to veto applications.
By contrast, former prime minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
responsible for passing the Act as "One of the biggest mistakes of his career" . He says that "For political leaders, it's like saying to someone who is hitting you over the head with a stick, 'Hey, try this instead', and handing them a mallet. The information is neither sought because the journalist is curious to know, nor given to bestow knowledge on 'the people'. It's used as a weapon." Labour Peer Lord Falconer has criticised the use of the act by journalists for ""fishing expeditions" into salacious stories, arguing that: "…FoI is not for press it is for the people. It needs to be properly used in order to promote good Government. Information needs to be handled responsibly, and I strongly believe that there is a duty of responsibility on behalf of the media as well."
In the article Freedom of Information: A sheep in wolf's clothing? Rodney Austin offers the following criticisms of the substance of the Act:
- The range of exemptions is wider than for any other freedom of information acts existing in a democratic state.
- The obligations to establish publication schemes were diluted meaning that there is no duty to publish information of any specified type
- There is a ministerial veto which undermines the Act. This has been used only twice: the first time to stop publication of minutes of cabinet meetings relating to the invasion of Iraq and the second to stop publication of cabinet meetings relating to discussions regarding devolution.
The legislation has also been criticised for "loopholes" that allow authorities to avoid disclosing information in certain situations. Companies owned by one public authority are generally subject to the Act but companies owned by two or more public authorities are not covered
Facts revealed by the act
Facts that have been brought to light by this Act include:- The Government agreed to a £1.5 million bailout of one of the most troubled schools in its flagship academies programmeAcademy (England)In the education system of England, an academy is a school that is directly funded by central government and independent of control by local government in England. An academy may receive additional support from personal or corporate sponsors, either financially or in kind...
ten days before the 2005 general election
- Ministers and MPs claimed thousands of pounds on taxis as part of £5.9 million in expenses for travel
- Foreign diplomats – who have diplomatic immunityDiplomatic immunityDiplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...
– were accused of rapes, sexual assaults, child abuse and murders while working in Britain - Seventy-four police officers serving with the Metropolitan Police have criminal records
- A clandestine British torture programme existed in post-war Germany, “reminiscent of the concentration camps”
- The UK supported the Israeli nuclear weapons program, by selling Israel 20 tonnes of heavy water in 1958.
- The NHS has made available ImplanonImplanonImplanon, made by Organon International, is a single-rod long acting reversible hormonal contraceptive subdermal implant that is inserted just under the skin of a woman's upper arm. The 4 cm by 2 mm Implanon rod contains 68 milligrams of etonogestrel which is released over a three year...
implants to girls from the age of 13 in an attempt to cut teenage pregnancies
Amendment bill
The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill was a private member's billPrivate Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
introduced to the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in 2007 which failed to become law. Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP David Maclean
David Maclean
David John Maclean, Baron Blencathra is a Conservative Party life peer. He was the Member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border from 1983 to 2010.-Biography:...
introduced the bill to ensure that MPs' correspondence was exempt from freedom of information laws. The then leader of the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, Sir Menzies Campbell
Menzies Campbell
Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...
, said there should not "be one law for MPs and a different law for everyone else" and that it looked like "Parliament has something to hide". However, this failed to pass the first reading in the House of Lords.
Further to this, Lord Falconer made comments suggesting that time spent deciding whether or not information fell under an exemption clause should be included in the £600 cost limit. Consultation was carried out, with the government saying the change would cut costs and discourage requests for trivial information, although critics said that it was to keep embarrassing information secret.
Further reading
- The Law of Freedom of Information (MacDonald, Jones et al.: OUP 2003)
- Information Rights (Coppel at al.: Sweet and Maxwell 2004)
- Your Right To Know (Brooke, H.: Pluto Press 2006)
External links
.- Information Commissioner's Office
- Freedom of Information Act Blog (maintained by Steve Wood, Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
) - Freedom of Information Journal
- House of Commons Library Article (An analysis of the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act)
- Open Government: a Journal on Freedom of Information. Open access e-journal with peer-reviewed research and commentary on FOI worldwide
- WhatDoTheyKnow.com - a web-based system for making and publishing Freedom of Information requests, maintained by mySocietyMySocietymySociety is an e-democracy project of the UK-based registered charity named UK Citizens Online Democracy, that aims to build "socially focussed tools with offline impacts". It was founded by Tom Steinberg in September 2003, and started activity after receiving a £250,000 grant in September 2004...