One in five Freedom Of Information requests turned down by Government
One in five Freedom Of Information requests turned down by Government
One in five requests under the Government's new Freedom of Information laws are turned down, Jack Straw has admitted.
The Freedom of Information Act, which came into force in January 2005, applies to more than 100,000 public bodies across the UK.
Last year figures from the Ministry of Justice show that central Government bodies received more than 32,000 different requests for information.
However 20 per cent - nearly 7,000 requests - were turned down point blank by officials. Less than two thirds of the requests - 63 per cent - were classed as fully "resolvable".
The annual report on the FOI Act in central Government also revealed that 16 per cent - more than 5,000 requests - were taking more than the specified 20 days to process.
Of the 620 requests which went to internal review within the departments, 19 per cent took more than 60 days to process.
Maurice Franckel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said: "This reflects the delays that some requesters are still experiencing before they receive a firm answer."
John Ashton, a consultant at Freedom of Information Ltd which makes requests for companies and non-governmental organisations, added: "The closer you get to central Government the tighter they are.
"The problem is that the Act just has too many exemptions - particularly over 'information that can be prejudicial to the effective carrying out of public affairs'."
The Liberal Democrats said it was difficult to see how so many requests can be turned down in an era of free information.
Justice spokesman David Howarth said: "There are genuine concerns over the creeping use of fees and exemptions as public bodies seek to wriggle away from their obligations."
Mr Straw, the Justice Secretary, said that the "flow of information between the Government and the people is fundamental to a vigorous and robust democracy".
However he added: "At the same time there is which in the public interest should not be released, and this is reflected in the structure of the Act, with some absolute exemptions and many qualified exemptions to release."
A review by Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers, was also looking at whether there should be increased open-ness in relation to the release of historical records.
Last year ministers backed down from a plan to charge more for FOI requests.
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