Letter to say more organisations should be covered by the Act

From FOIwiki
Jump to navigationJump to search

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

Sir,

We welcome the recent statements by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Justice Minister Michael Wills confirming the Government's intention to extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act. There is clearly an increasing demand, highlighted by the MPs' expenses scandal, for organisations in receipt of public funding, or with a public role, to operate to the highest standards of transparency and openness. We find it extraordinary that many organisations with substantial public responsibilities are not currently subject to the UK's freedom of information laws. Private prisons, housing associations, the monarchy and the organising committee for the London Olympics are just a few examples of organisations beyond the reach of the current law.

Now is the time for the Government to show it is genuinely committed to transparency by adding more organisations with public responsibilities to the act. Many of the omissions from the act appear to be illogical and unjustifiable. Why are the new specialist academy schools not subject to the act whereas other schools are? Why are police forces subject to the act, but the Association of Chief Police Officers which co-ordinates aspects of national policing and develops policy is not? Surely, it is important that bodies which 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 operate in an open fashion, yet they are omitted.

There are clearly significant loopholes in the current legislation, for example, a company owned by two or more public authorities would not be subject to the act, whereas a company wholly owned by one authority would be.

There are a large number of bodies which we believe need to be added to the Act; as the list is far too long to include here we have made it available online at Appendix to this letter.


Regards,

NAMES

Omitted Sections - Which may well go back in!

The MPs' expenses scandal has shown the presence of great public demand for transparency for all public bodies and private bodies in receipt of public funding.

omissions in the act were described as "unfair" ? - Why

The list which could go in the letter

While there more than we can cover in one letter but we will highlight selected examples of bodies and officials we are calling on the Government to make subject to Freedom of Information Act:

  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 additional 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.


Ideas and Comments

(move to discussion page) Do we want to comment on any aspect other than the range of institutions covered?

  • The range of exemptions - ease with which exemptions can be applied.
  • Effectiveness of the ICO
  • Complexity of the UK FOIA - with respect for example to the USA's version
  • Do we want a line on FOI saving the country money in the long term, ie. transparency resulting in greater accountability providing a driving force for lower costs and better public services.
  • How long do we want the letter to be? 200 words would be a long letter, 300 approaching the max. What I've currently got between "Sir" and "Regards" is 350.

If this is intended for printing in a paper we need a short url for the appendix, possibly to a static page rather than a wiki (with a comment option though)?

Is a list a good format for a letter. Can we write a paragraph which is more persuasive? Something which is hard to format or unusual might deter publication.


See also

Quote from the Prime Minister's Statement Talk:Letter_to_say_more_organisations_should_be_covered_by_the_Act