The Information Commissioner's Office yesterday published a guide
on how to complain if information requested under the Freedom of
Information Act has not been disclosed. There have been 4,000
requests since the Act came into force on 1st January.
By now, the first of these requests should have been fulfilled,
given that authorities have a maximum 20 working days in which to
respond.
The new guide, "Your right to know: how to complain", gives
details on the complaints procedure, the information needed by the
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the powers given to the
ICO to obtain the information requested.
"Our job is to be the independent referee if a request for
information has been turned down," said Graham Smith, Deputy
Information Commissioner. "We will investigate your complaint and
if we decide an authority has not given you information that you
are entitled to, we will use our powers to instruct it to do so. We
will be responsible in our approach, recognising that greater
openness should strengthen, not undermine, effective
government."
Background
The Freedom of Information Act came into full effect on 1st
January, giving individuals for the first time the statutory right
to see a massive amount of information held by Government
departments and thousands of public bodies.
People now have a right to information on the way decisions are
made, and public money is spent, by more than 100,000 public
authorities, including Government departments, schools, NHS Trusts,
police forces and local authorities.
Under the Act, anyone, of any nationality, and living anywhere
in the world, can make a written request for information, and
expect a response within 20 working days. The 20 days are
calculated from the day after a request is received.
Public authorities must disclose properly requested information
unless an exemption applies. In most cases, even where an exemption
applies, they must still disclose information to the public if the
public interest in disclosure is greater than the competing public
interest in the particular exemption.
The ICO has the power to instruct bodies to disclose
information. In practice, this will mean deciding whether
exemptions have been properly applied by public bodies and, in most
cases, ensuring that the public interest in disclosure is fully
considered. A public body risks contempt of court if it ignores a
formal Decision issued by the Information Commissioner.
The first month
In its first month of operation the new Freedom of Information
regime has garnered over 4,000 requests, the Government announced
yesterday.
About half of these have been made by reporters, with most
requests (over 600) being made to the National Archives. The
Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office were
also top targets, and typical requests included applications for
information about artwork loaned from national collections to
Cabinet Ministers' offices and official residences.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) received about
144 requests for information in January, 76 of those within the
first three days of the act coming into force. Of these early
requests 55 have been answered, 19 are on target to be answered
within the 20 working days.
In addition, local authorities have released information about a
wide range of issues from pension schemes, car park contracts and
repairs to council buildings to restaurant hygiene inspection
reports and attacks on teachers in schools.
"This is a new era in the relationship between the citizen and
the state. After just one month, the Freedom of Information Act has
already been seen to make a real impact," said Lord Chancellor Lord
Falconer.
"We have sown the seeds of cultural change towards a government
at all levels that is more open, transparent and accountable. But
we must remember this is not a free for all. There will always be
areas - like national security - where it is necessary for
information to be withheld to allow government to act effectively,"
he added.
The ICO Guide is currently unavailable on-line but can be
ordered from the ICO by telephone on 08453 091091.
