Freedom of Information Act review to consider introducing fees and other changes
A review into the Freedom of Information Act will consider whether to begin charging for requests which campaigners warn would serious harm the industry.
An independent commission established by the government will examine a range of options as a means of levitating the “burden” the act places on public authorities.
The Independent Commission on Freedom of Information, which was set up in July, today launched a public call for evidence which it will take into consideration before publishing its findings by the end of the year.
It is chaired by Lord Burns and includes former Labour foreign secretary Jack Straw, former Conservative leader Lord Howard of Lympne, Lord Carlile of Berriew and Dame Patricia Hodgson.
Lord Burns said the commission “is an independent body, with no pre-determined view, and is interested in gathering as much objective evidence as possible on the questions posed in the call for evidence."
One of the issues it will review is the introduction of fees for Freedom of Information requests, which has been instrumental in making the government and public bodies more transparent and allowing the press to hold them to account.
Another of the key issues under consideration is whether to give cabinet ministers the powers to veto the publication of sensitive information.
The proposals have left Freedom of Information campaigners “very worried” and would serve to restrict the act while also making it “inaccessible for individual requesters and small and medium organisations as well as for freelance journalists".
Speaking to The Press Gazzette, Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said the commission was “looking at a very wide range of potential restrictions to the act”.
He warned that charging a fee “would make the Freedom of Information Act inaccessible for individual requesters and small and medium organisations as well as for freelance journalists."
News Media Association regulatory affairs advisor, Lucy Gill, also spoke to the Gazette and said it was “disappointing that instead of looking at ways of making government more transparent, the Commission is instead considering a raft of measures that would weaken the Act and impede the public’s use of it.”
Gill added that it was “essential that all supporters of the Freedom of Information Act make their voices heard”.