Writing for Liberal Democrat voice on the government's threats to the Freedom Of Information Act, Caroline Pidgeon said:
The announcement this Summer that Ministers are now seeking to ‘review’ the freedom of information act had a most depressing ring to it.
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I suggest that instead of putting the Act under scrutiny we should start now putting its critics under the microscope.
We need stronger, not weaker legislation as I argued last year on Lib Dem Voice. Simon Hughes’ subsequent success in getting Network Rail included under the law’s remit, was an important step forward, but quite frankly we still need to go much further in ensuring far more public organisations are covered. Organisations that also receive significant public funding, such as train operating companies and major contractors to the public sector should also be included within its remit.
It is hard to exaggerate some of the beneficial effects that have flowed from freedom of information legislation. It has exposed waste, incompetence and neglect of vulnerable people, including for example the record of so many children in local authority care who go missing each year.
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Defending FOI legislation should be an issue that should unite each and every Liberal Democrat. We should all be using the legislation and defending it.