Storm of FoI protest puts government on back foot

Government plans to tighten freedom of information rules are to be reviewed in the face of widespread criticism that the reforms will curb the release of politically sensitive documents.

Just three weeks after the end of its first consultation on the controversial plans, the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) announced a second public consultation on whether to take action to stop requests imposing a “disproportionate” burden on public authorities.

Campaigners have hailed the move as a major concession. Heather Brooke, author of Your Right to Know, told IWR that the move amounted to a “consultation on a consultation”.

She added: “The government is effectively admitting it drew the terms of reference too narrowly. I guess they got such an overwhelming amount of criticism they are now backpedalling.”

The government proposals would add the time it takes to read, consider and consult on requests to the cost of inquiries made under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.

The other major change would be to treat all requests made by an organisation or individual over a three-month period as one and combining the costs to count towards the price ceiling imposed on requests.

Under current rules, a request can be refused if the cost of retrieving the information exceeds £600 for central government departments and £450 for other public bodies.

The BBC, the Press Association, the Society of Editors and the Newspaper Society have all come out against the reforms, arguing that they would “dramatically curtail” the ability of journalists to disclose information that could be in the public interest.

Groups including the Campaign Against the Arms Trade and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations also opposed the proposals, which were first made last year in a report for the DCA by consultancy Frontier Economics.

Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, told the media that the government could end up dropping its proposals altogether.

The current consultation period will end in June. A DCA spokesman said the results of both consultations would be considered together before officials reached a decision to put before parliament.

In evidence to the constitutional affairs select committee last month, information commissioner Richard Thomas said the current rules were working well and had clear benefits.