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| Labour welcomes Tory 'climbdown' over Freedom of Information Act | Labour welcomes Tory 'climbdown' over Freedom of Information Act |
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| Labour has welcomed a “climbdown” by the Conservative party over the Freedom of Information Act, after the Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock said a seven-month investigation had found the system was working well. | |
| Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, who set up a cross-party committee to examine the issue, said: “This is a remarkable government climbdown in the face of sustained pressure from the opposition parties, the third sector and the media.” | Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, who set up a cross-party committee to examine the issue, said: “This is a remarkable government climbdown in the face of sustained pressure from the opposition parties, the third sector and the media.” |
| Hancock established the commission last July to examine whether the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI) was too expensive and intrusive, mooting controversial proposals including charging members of the public for requesting information from public bodies. | Hancock established the commission last July to examine whether the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI) was too expensive and intrusive, mooting controversial proposals including charging members of the public for requesting information from public bodies. |
| The full report will be published on Tuesday, but Hancock has signalled that he was considering leaving the act largely unchanged. He said: “After 10 years we took the decision to review the Freedom of Information Act and we have found it is working well.” | The full report will be published on Tuesday, but Hancock has signalled that he was considering leaving the act largely unchanged. He said: “After 10 years we took the decision to review the Freedom of Information Act and we have found it is working well.” |
| Related: Review decides not to change Freedom of Information Act | Related: Review decides not to change Freedom of Information Act |
| Watson said Labour would be pressing the government to reveal the cost of the investigation, “which has decided after many weeks of expensive deliberation to maintain the status quo”. He added that if the government failed to reveal the cost of the inquiry, he would submit his own FoI request to reveal the answer. | Watson said Labour would be pressing the government to reveal the cost of the investigation, “which has decided after many weeks of expensive deliberation to maintain the status quo”. He added that if the government failed to reveal the cost of the inquiry, he would submit his own FoI request to reveal the answer. |
| Labour had argued that the threat to FoI was part of a concerted effort by the Conservatives to consolidate their grip on power, together with cuts to opposition funding, planned changes to constituency boundaries, and a crackdown on trade unions’ political contributions. | Labour had argued that the threat to FoI was part of a concerted effort by the Conservatives to consolidate their grip on power, together with cuts to opposition funding, planned changes to constituency boundaries, and a crackdown on trade unions’ political contributions. |
| Hancock, who has been criticised by his Conservative colleagues this week over controversial rules on pro-Brexit ministers’ access to civil servants, said: “We will not make any legal changes to FoI. We will spread transparency throughout public services, making sure all public bodies routinely publish details of senior pay and perks. After all, taxpayers should know if their money is funding a company car or a big pay-off.” | |
| The five-member committee, which has been described by campaigners as an “establishment stitch-up”, included the former Labour foreign secretary Jack Straw, who called for the act to be rewritten. | The five-member committee, which has been described by campaigners as an “establishment stitch-up”, included the former Labour foreign secretary Jack Straw, who called for the act to be rewritten. |
| Also on the panel was the Michael Howard, the former Conservative party leader whose gardening expenses were criticised after being exposed by FoI requests, and Dame Patricia Hodgson, the deputy chair of Ofcom, which has criticised the act for its “chilling effect” on government. | Also on the panel was the Michael Howard, the former Conservative party leader whose gardening expenses were criticised after being exposed by FoI requests, and Dame Patricia Hodgson, the deputy chair of Ofcom, which has criticised the act for its “chilling effect” on government. |