Downing Street’s proposal to put a price cap on Freedom of Information requests has not been welcomed by publishers.
The News Media Association (NMA), which represents national and regional media companies, has called for governments ‘clarity’ on the potential introduction of coast limits for Freedom of Information Act (FOI) requests.
First reported by the Financial Times, the proposal follows a steep rise in submissions to the service, with 18% more requests in 2024 than the previous 12 months.
Currently, FOI enquiries can be rejected based on costs. For central government, if the time it takes to gather information is worth more than £600 there is grounds to block the application.
Other departments, including local councils, can object if costs exceed £450. Staff hours are charged at £25 in both instances. However, these pries were set at the beginning of the century, and if inflation were taken into account the central government ceiling would be close to £1100, with local requests around £820.
According to Owen Meredith, NMA’s Chief Executive, reducing this budget could have a hugely detrimental impact on the service. And, in turn, press freedom and government accountability. There was also no ‘balancing test’ which took into consideration the level of public interest versus the cost.
‘It is not routine or trivial requests that would be excluded,’ he said. ‘It is the most sensitive and significant ones – those involving complex decision-making, high-value contracts, safeguarding, multi-agency correspondence, and procurement.
‘As the Government looks to hand more power back to local authorities, it would be entirely inconsistent to reduce the ability of the local press to scrutinise such decisions,’ Meredith continued. ‘Lowering the limit risks entrenching these weaknesses by reducing pressure to modernise record-keeping and search capability.’
The plan has also been opposed by the Society of Editors, with Chief Executive Dawn Alford describing FOI as a ‘vital mechanism for ensuring accountability’. Any attempt to restrict this would therefore be ‘damaging to democracy’.
‘The prime minister has spoken of his desire to restore trust and integrity in UK politics and the importance of openness and transparency,’ said Alford. ‘Restricting the scope of freedom of information requests – a vital tool for both the media and the public to hold government to account – would run counter to these objectives.’
Image: AbsolutVision / Unsplash
Leave a Reply