7 Conclusion
109. A wide range of new information is being released
by public authorities as a result of FOI and this information
is being used constructively. Members of the public, as well as
journalists, campaigners and academics, are making use of the
legislation, and, in general, public authorities are coping with
its demands. For these reasons, the majority of our witnesses
judged the first year of FOI implementation to be a success.
110. Some requesters have, however, experienced long
delays in receiving responses from authorities. Some of these
delays can be attributed to authorities' inexperience and we expect
to see an improved compliance with the 20 day statutory response
deadline over the next year or two as authorities become more
familiar with the Act. We believe that many other long delays
are attributable to the lack of clarity about response targets
in the central guidance and that the DCA could and should bring
about a much more timely response from the public sector by setting
specific targets for public interest consideration and internal
reviews in the section 45 code of practice.
111. We heard a number of concerns from both requesters
and authorities about the effectiveness of the complaints resolution
process. The Information Commissioner himself acknowledged that
the first year had been more challenging that he had expected.
A recovery plan is now in place to improve the quality and quantity
of decision notices issued by the ICO and we will review the Commissioner's
autumn progress report to assess whether this is achieving results.
112. One of the often-stated intentions of FOI legislation
is to bring about a culture change towards greater openness in
the public sector, but other jurisdictions have found that culture
change remains an elusive aspiration. The Canadian experience
after 16 years of FOI was that 'it has been successful in forcing
public servants to disclose more information - but it has not
changed the closed culture. And the clear evidence of the durability
of the old ways is the system-wide crisis of delay in answering
access requests. These delays illustrate the capacity of the public
service (through design, incompetence or both) to thwart the clearly
expressed will of Parliament'.[91]
Professor Alasdair Roberts argues that there has been little
evidence of profound shifts in bureaucratic culture in any of
the Commonwealth jurisdictions which implemented FOI legislation
during the 1970s and 1980s:
Governments have become more open; but this does
not mean that they have acquired a 'culture of openness'. It means
only that the rules that govern the conflict over information
have shifted in favour of openness, and that government officials
(as a rule) recognise their ultimate obligation to submit to the
rule of law.[92]
113. A culture change towards greater openness is
the long term aim, but the immediate priority should be a more
effective and assertive enforcement of the law. The first year
of FOI in the UK has demonstrated a shift towards greater openness
in parts of the public sector. We look to the DCA and the ICO
to ensure that this shift continues and that public authorities
recognise their obligations under the FOI Act - this includes
taking all necessary steps to protect the integrity of the information
which they hold electronically.
91 Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
Annual Report 1998-1999; www.infocom.gc.ca Back
92
'Two challenges in administration of the Access to Information
Act'; www.aroberts.us Back
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