David Hencke and Clare Dyer
Wednesday March 21, 2007
The Guardian

Plans to curb people's ability to ask for data from the state under the Freedom of Information Act will "significantly reduce" the number of disclosures in the public interest, MPs were warned yesterday.

Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, in effect called on the government to drop the plans, telling the constitutional affairs committee that the proposed curbs "will introduce new layers of procedural and bureaucratic complexity". The government intends to limit individual requests and make it easier for authorities to reject difficult and time-consuming requests on the grounds of cost.

Mr Thomas said the present system was working well and warned that his office could have up to 2,000 cases a year from people challenging refusals.

He told MPs: "In my view the existing fees regime is simple, clear and straightforward."

Today Lord Falconer will say that freedom of information is primarily for the public, not the press, and it is the public's right to know, not the media's role in providing information, that is essential to openness.

Under current rules, central government need not disclose information under the act if the cost of providing it exceeds £600. The limit for local councils, NHS trusts and other public bodies is £450.

The new rules would allow officials to count the cost of time spent reading, considering possible exemptions and consulting in totting up the cost.

They would also aggregate "non-similar" requests from the same person within a 60-day period in deciding whether the cost limit is reached. Currently only similar requests may be aggregated.