Writing at Liberal Democrat Voice, Caroline Pidgeon defends the Freedom of Information Act and argues for sticking to its principles and extending it to more publicly funded bodies.
One of the most significant constitutional developments of the last Labour Government was the passing of the 2000 Freedom of Information Act, which finally came into force in January 2005. This was legislation which Liberal Democrats had called for over many years.
With the implementation of this legislation a huge change took place in government departments and town halls across the country. Instead of assuming that most information was automatically secret or restricted in some way, many public bodies were forced to work to a different principle. The new law meant most information could be requested by the public, unless there were important and clearly defined reasons why it should not be released. Most significantly more enlightened public bodies have discovered that instead of answering specific freedom of information requests it is just cheaper and easier to routinely release online huge amounts of data and other information at the earliest opportunity.
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Indeed, there are still too many publicly funded bodies, most notably Network Rail, which are actually exempted from the legislation. That has to change and I believe Simon Hughes MP in his role as a Justice Minster will ensure it does this year. I would also like to see it extended to other bodies that are funded in large part by the public purse and run public contracts such as Train Operating Companies and contractors such as Serco!
Changes to the secrecy over section 106 planning agreements are also much needed and I hope Southwark Liberal Democrats are successful in their long standing campaign.
Unlike Tony Blair let’s take pride in our freedom of information legislation.
Giving power to citizens and ensuring every public body is held to account is what defines Liberal Democrats.