Letter to say more organisations should be covered by the Act: Difference between revisions

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==Text of letter==
==Text of letter==


Dear Sirs,
Dear Editor,


We welcome the recent comments from Michael Wills (Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice) recent comments “there is going to be an extension of FOI".  Following the MPs' expenses scandal there is great public support for transparency for all public bodies and private bodies in receipt of public funding.
We welcome the recent comments from Michael Wills (Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice) recent comments “there is going to be an extension of FOI".  Following the MPs' expenses scandal there is great public support for transparency for all public bodies and private bodies in receipt of public funding.

Revision as of 19:00, 7 June 2009

Reason for letter

To get the Government to use its powers under Sections 4 & 5 of the Act to bring more organisations into the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.

The letter is intended to influence the Government's response to the findings of its consultation.

Text of letter

Dear Editor,

We welcome the recent comments from Michael Wills (Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice) recent comments “there is going to be an extension of FOI". Following the MPs' expenses scandal there is great public support for transparency for all public bodies and private bodies in receipt of public funding.

Now is the Government to show it it is genuinely committed to freedom of information and transparency by adding more organisations with public responsibilities to the Act. Members of the public will find many of the omissions from the Act to be illogical, unfair and unjustifiable. There are a large number of bodies which need to added to the Act more than we can cover in one letter but we will highlight certain examples.

We call on the Government to make the following bodies and officials subject to Freedom of Information Act 2000

  1. Academies (which the DCSF describes as “state-funded schools”)
  2. Returning Officers in general and local elections
  3. Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme
  4. Bodies that control what we read and what we watch such as the Press Complaints Commission, the Advertising Standards Authority, and the British Board of Film Classification
  5. Housing Associations
  6. Companies owned two thirds or more by public sector bodies
  7. UCAS – the organisation responsible for managing applications to higher education courses in the UK
  8. companies that control our National Infrastructure such as the National Grid
  9. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) which formulates national policing policy in a wide range of areas

There are many other bodies which we think the Government should seriously consider making subject to the Freedom of Information Act and we have provided a more comprehensive list in an Appendix to this letter.

Regards,

NAMES