Campaign for Freedom of Information warns against FOI review panel
Data access lobbyists 'Campaign for Freedom of Information' has warned that a government panel set up to review the act is "a major attack on the public's right to know".
In particular, the body was concerned by the panel's plan to protect internal government discussions from disclosure and to reduce the ‘burden’ of the FOI Act.
The commission chaired by Lord Burns will investigate whether it is worth implementing a defence measure to obscure official advice given to civil servants.
Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said: “The government is clearly proposing to crack down on FOI. Ministers want certainty that policy discussions will not only take place in secret but be kept secret afterwards.
“They don’t like the fact that the Act requires the case for confidentiality to be weighed against the public interest in disclosure.”
He warned that any changes in the act could result in government blunders being hidden from scrutiny for as much as two decades.