A shock to the system: Report into the Freedom of Information Act 2000

20 May 2009 

Journalists using the Freedom of Information Act have forced details of MPs' second homes allowances into the open, with embarrassing results for Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and other Ministers. Many other revelations have come to light through the Act in the spirit of open government; however, the first comprehensive survey of the workings of the Freedom of Information Act has highlighted the limitations of this searchlight.
The report 'A Shock to the System', by Jeremy Hayes a BBC Fellow of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University, concludes that in future campaign organisations that have the time and the resources to stick to the task may become increasingly important to journalists as unpaid researchers. Although the Act can mine stories that contain previously confidential information, the lengthy process of obtaining information - up to three years in some cases - has meant that it is a tool for the investigative reporter more than the daily journalist working to a deadline.
Mr Hayes says over four years the Act has become a game of 'cat and mouse' with Whitehall - with protracted delays and appeals to official arbiters like the Information Commissioner. He cites evidence from the Ministry of Justice, which points to government departments as the main source of delays with over 75 per cent of appeals to the Information Commissioner's Office arising from refusals from Departments of State. Significant delays arising from a backlog at the ICO have meant that over 30 per cent of appeals remain unresolved after 12 months. In turn, these structural delays have increased the incentive to officials to block or delay the disclosure of information as a form of news management, the report argues. By contrast, statutory agencies like the NHS, the police or local authorities are likely to respond to FoI requests much more quickly. 
Government ministers insist the Act, which came into force in January 2005, was not created for the benefit of journalism but, according to the report, there is no doubt that for a number of journalists the Act has transformed the way they work. Four years after it was introduced the flow of news stories relying, in whole or in part, on information gained through a request to a government department, agency or statutory body has become continual and led to thousands of stories with revelations which would not have been obtained otherwise.
 Jeremy Hayes said: ' There is no doubt that Freedom of Information has changed the rules of the game and made public authorities accountable for the way they make decisions and spend public money. However, there is little sign that delays in the appeals process are reducing.
'If campaigning organisations like pressure groups and political parties become the prime users of the Act, it could be argued that this will lead to a news agenda driven more by vested interests than by issues that are of real public interest that need investigating.'
The research is based on interviews with the Information Commissioner's Office, the Ministry of Justice, leading campaigners who helped bring the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to the statute book, and leading practitioners of FOI inquiry. They include journalists such as Jon Ungoed-Thomas who mounted one of the first enquiries over MPs' expenses and Matthew Davis, the most prolific user of FOI in journalism, whose news agency Datanews is entirely based on FOI researches. Source material also focused on the rulings of many cases by the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, and the Information Tribunal.
 
For further information or to interview Jeremy Hayes, please ring him on 0779 8888650 or email the University of Oxford Press Office on press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk.