The report, commissioned by the Improvement and Development
Agency and carried out by the UCL Constitution Unit, found that
most requests (60%) had come from private individuals, 18% had come
from businesses, and 10% from journalists – who accounted for some
of the most problematic requests.
Around 8% of requests were refused.
On average, says the report, district councils spent £31,223 in
preparing for the Act, while other types of councils – such as
county councils or London boroughs – spent an average of £55,881.
Total set up costs amounted to around £15 million, with operating
costs – relating to 480,247 hours work – amounting to around £12
million.
Sixty-eight percent of the 200 local authorities responding to
the survey did not charge applicants for dealing with FOI requests.
Of those authorities that did charge, 73% only charged for the
costs of disbursements, such as postage. Most authorities did not
think the time and money spent in charging would be
cost-effective.
The survey asked authorities to identify the three main problems
they faced in complying with the Act. The top problems cited by
authorities were:
- applying exemptions – particularly in balancing competing
public interests, or in deciding whether a piece of information is
“environmental” and therefore within the Environmental Information
Regulatory regime;
- ensuring that staff complied with timescales, processes and
procedures;
- coping with limited resources in time, staff and money
On the other hand, authorities reported that FOI compliance has
had a positive impact in some ways, most particularly with regards
records management, a more “open” culture within the authority, and
better communication and co-operation between departments.
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.
