Page 249 - Law and the Media

14 Freedom of Information

Charles de Fleurieu

14.1 Introduction

Historically, the Government has always exercised strict control over the disclosure of
information related to government activities and public authorities. Over the years, the
suppression of this type of information has led to political controversy and public outcry,
such as the ‘Arms to Iraq’ affair and the BSE scandal.

As a result of this type of controversy, the Government has been under increasing pressure
to move towards a more ‘open’ form of government. The development of freedom of
information legislation in other counties has contributed to the debate. In addition, modern
society is now fuelled to a greater extent by the ‘information market’, which is heavily reliant
on governmental and public authority sources. The result of all these factors is a gradual
change in the regime that governs access to information held by government departments,
their agencies and public authorities.

Limited rights to freedom of information were first granted in the early 1970s under the
Local Government Act 1972, which enables members of the public to inspect and take copies
of local authority minutes, reports and background papers.

However, it is only in the last decade that the issue of widespread freedom of information has
really been pushed to the forefront of the political agenda. In 1994 the Code of Practice on
Access to Government Information (the ‘Code’) was introduced. Finally, on 30 November
2000 the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the ‘FIA’) was passed. The FIA, the first such
in the history of the United Kingdom, is an extremely important piece of legislation. When
it comes into force, it will give individuals and organizations a general right of access to
information held by public authorities, as well as the right to be told whether certain
information exists. However, there are a number of exemptions to the general right of access
to information, which are also set out in the FIA.

The FIA will gradually replace the existing regime under the Code by phased introduction.
It will be fully implemented by 30 November 2005.

The obligation on public bodies to provide freedom of information under the Code and the
FIA should be distinguished from the right of an individual to access their own personal
information under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Access to Personal Files Act 1987,
both of which are considered in Chapter 7.