Public bodies ‘failing’ to prepare for freedom of information
With the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act only 25 days away, a new report has found that some public bodies will not be ready.
Campaigners have been warning in recent months that public bodies are not sufficiently prepared for the implementation, and today’s report from the Commons Constitutional Affairs Select Committee seems to back up these concerns.
Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, told a select committee meeting earlier in the year that the ‘big bang approach’ – whereby all departments and public bodies implement the act on the same day – could be potentially catastrophic as there will be no opportunity to learn from each other.
The Freedom of Information Act came into law in November 2000 but, to allow time for preparation, its provisions were delayed until January 1st 2005.
The act will allow any member of the public to enquire what information public authorities hold on an issue and to request the release of that information. There will, however, be certain exceptions, for example on national security grounds
Today’s report finds that whilst good progress has been made in Whitehall departments, preparation across the public sector as a whole is ‘patchy’ – particularly in the health sector – and that some local authorities will not be compliant by the deadline.
It blames the Department of Constitutional Affairs for failing to “provide strategic control, leadership or early enough guidance to public bodies on the technical aspects of implementation as well as the high turnover of DCA staff”
Committee chairman Alan Beith, said: “The DCA has had four years to prepare for freedom of information but with less than a month to go it appears that some bodies may not be well enough prepared.
“Our report shows that in the past, support and guidance from the Department of Constitutional Affairs, which has overall responsibility for guiding the public sector through the process of implementation for the Freedom of Information regime, has been lacking.
“Every effort must be taken in these last few weeks to iron out any remaining hurdles.”
He added: “Freedom of Information is not an optional extra that public bodies can sign up to if they want to; it is a legal obligation that they must be ready for.”
