Note: Not only were these changes outruled, but WhatDoTheyKnow got a nice mention in the process. See more in our follow-up blog post.

Proposed changes, currently under discussion by a cross-party government commission, could make it much harder for you to access information.

This is what the proposed restrictions would mean for you:

  • You’d be charged for making a request
  • Your request could be turned down on the grounds of cost, even more easily than it can be now
  • You’d find it more difficult (or even impossible) to obtain details of public authorities’ internal discussions
  • The release of government information could be easily blocked by ministers
  • The newspapers that you read would be less able to uncover stories of corruption, malpractice or cover-ups.

You have until 20 November if you’d like to voice your opposition to these restraints.

Here are four easy ways you can take action right now—you’ll find more details about all of them on the Campaign For Freedom of Information’s website.

What you can do

Why these restrictions matter

Freedom of Information is for everyone, not just those who can afford it

If you charge for making a Freedom of Information request, you automatically exclude a sector of society from the right to know.

It’s not just that a limited income will discourage some people from making requests (though it will, and our research has already shown that engaging with our democratic system is largely the preserve of the well-educated and well-off, a situation which needs to be rectified).

It’s also that the added complexity will discourage those who already consider the FOI process daunting—something we’ve always striven hard to overcome with WhatDoTheyKnow.com.

The right to information should be available to everyone. Not just those with money to spare, and the bureaucratic skills to navigate its complexities.

We’ve seen the results of restrictions in other countries

Our Alaveteli software helps people run FOI sites all over the world. At our recent conference, we heard of the struggles those people face, from the charging of fees, to bodies’ refusal to release information, to complex red tape.

In every case, the result was impeded access to information, a lowering of public’s engagement with their right to know, and increased disenfranchisement.

In Ireland, for example, where similar constraints were put in place in 2003, overall usage of the FOI Act fell by over 50%, and requests by the media by over 83%*.

Note that many important UK news stories in recent times have come from FOI requests: the imposition of fees and restrictions will have a stifling effect on journalists.

The current consultation threatens to put the UK in the same boat.

Government ministers could pick and choose what they release

Running WhatDoTheyKnow, we’re already aware that many requests are turned down—requests which we’d consider quite reasonable.

If these new restrictions take hold, it will be much easier for ministers to use the power of veto to withhold any information they choose.

The “safe space” argument as in the Commission’s call for evidence stresses the importance of collective cabinet responsibility and not revealing private splits within the cabinet.

We believe that such splits are in fact vital for the public to know about, in the interests of democracy. We’d also say it’s likely, human nature being what it is, that should a veto be made available, information will also be withheld when it is inconvenient or detrimental to the ministers’ party line.

Public authorities are funded by us, the public

If you pay someone to do a job, you’re within your rights to examine their work when you need to.

We should never forget that public authorities—the bodies which are subject to the FOI Act—are funded by us, the taxpayer. We should have the right to hold them to account.

If the government is concerned about the costs of FOI, instead of imposing restrictions, it should promote more proactive disclosure of information held by public bodies, which would save everyone time and money.

How will you help?

These are just a few of the reasons we’ll be asking you to take action over the next ten days. Please do all you can—and then help spread the word.

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*A Review of the Operation of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act 2003: An Investigation into the Effects of the Amendment Act and the Introduction of Fees on Access Requests by Members of the Public. Ireland later reversed the decision to introduce fees “to restore the balance”.

Image: Kimberly Kauer (CC)