Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs Written Evidence


Evidence submitted by David Heigham

  As a former Civil Servant, it appears on the face of the papers that the assessment of the costs of the Freedom of Information Act did not follow the standard Treasury guidance (which I assume is still in force) to assess benefits in such a case as well as costs. Major benefits, even if ill quantified, may outweigh marginal costs. Obviously, benefits cannot be quantified in the same fairly precise terms as costs; but a guiding principle in such assessments is that one should try to be approximately right, and always aware of the danger of being precisely wrong.

  Some possible headings of benefits that might be approximately assessed include:

    1.  Has the operation of the Act helped to reveal cases where public resources may be being misused or wasted?

    2.  Has the operation of the Act helped to identify cases where the operation of the machinery of government has been less than satisfactory?

    3.  Has the operation of the Act helped to formulate guidance or training in Government operations?

    4.  Has the operation of the Act improved confidence in public administration?

    5.  What benefits have citizens felt from the operation of the Act?

    6.  Has the operation of the Act produced any reductions of costs or increase of benefits for other agents in the economy?

  This list of possible headings is based on general principles only. I have no expertise in Freedom of Information matters; those who do will be able to list possible benefits more completely and relevantly. But from the general principles embodied in successive editions of the Treasury guidance, it seems difficult to see how Ministers can come to a properly informed decision if no attempt has been made to assess whether substantive benefits exist.

March 2007





 
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