Justice Committee - First Report
Post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 3 July 2012.


Contents


Terms of Reference

Summary

1  Introduction

2  The objectives of the Act

3  Costs and fees

4  Delays (section 10) and enforcement (section 77)

5  Vexatious requests (section 14) and types of requestors

6  Policy formulation, safe spaces and the chilling effect

7  The pre-publication exemption (section 22) and health and safety exemption (section 38)

8  The commercial exemption (section 43) and the application of FOI to outsourced public services

9  Conclusion

Conclusions and recommendations

Formal Minutes

Witnesses

List of printed written evidence

List of additional written evidence

List of unprinted evidence

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament

Oral and written evidence

21 February 2012: Maurice Frankel, Director, Campaign for Freedom of Information, Alexandra Runswick, Deputy Director, Unlock Democracy, and Alex Skene, Volunteer, WhatDoTheyKnow
Professor Robert Hazell CBE, Director, Dr Ben Worthy, Senior Researcher, and Jim Amos, Honorary Senior Research Associate, UCL Constitution Unit

28 February 2012: Professor Ian Diamond, Vice-Chancellor, University of Aberdeen and Chair of Research Policy Network, Universities UK, Dr Rodney Eastwood, Registrar, Imperial College London (on behalf of the Russell Group), and Professor Trevor J McMillan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Lancaster University and Chair of the 1994 Group Research and Enterprise Policy Group
Martin Rosenbaum, BBC News, Doug Wills, Group Managing Editor of Evening Standard Ltd and Independent Print Ltd, David Higgerson, Digital Publishing Director of Trinity Mirror Regionals (on behalf of the Newspaper Society), and David Henke, Senior Investigative Journalist for ExaroNews (on behalf of the National Union of Journalists)

14 March 2012: Christopher Graham, Information Commissioner, and Graham Smith, Deputy Information Commissioner and Director of Freedom of Information, Information Commissioner’s Office

27 March 2012: Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield and Lord O’Donnell of Clapham GCB
Gordon Wanless, NHS Business Service Authority, Sue Slipman, Foundation Trust Network, Wyn Taylor, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, and Julian Brookes, NHS South of England

17 April 2012: Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Dr Nick Palmer, Director of Policy, Michelle Thew, Chief Executive, and David Thomas, Legal Consultant, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection

15 May 2012: Roger Gough, Cabinet Member for Business Strategy and Support, Kent County Council, Edward Hammond, Research and Information Manager, Centre for Public Scrutiny, Tracy Phillips, Information Compliance Advisor (Solicitor), Lambeth Council, and James Rogers, Assistant Chief Executive, Leeds City Council
Glenn Preston, Deputy Director, Information and Devolution and Pam Teare, Director, Communication and Information, Ministry of Justice, Marion Furr, Director, Ministerial Business and Parliamentary Accountability, Department of Health, Brendan Walsh, Head, Information Rights, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Roger Smethurst, Deputy Director, Knowledge and Information Management, Cabinet Office

16 May 2012: Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP, Attorney-General
Rt Hon Lord McNally, Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, and Rt Hon Francis Maude MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General

Written evidence

Additional (unprinted) written evidence




 
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© Parliamentary copyright 2012
Prepared 26 July 2012