9 Conclusion
241. The Freedom of Information Act has been
a significant enhancement of our democracy. Overall our witnesses
agreed that the Act was working well. The right to access information
has improved openness, transparency and accountability. The principal
objectives of the Act have therefore been met, but we are not
surprised that the unrealistic secondary expectation that the
Act would increase public confidence in Government and Parliament
has not been met. We do not believe that there has been any general
harmful effect at all on the ability to conduct business in the
public service, and in our view the additional burdens are outweighed
by the benefits. There is some risk—based on perception
as much as reality—that policy discussions at the highest
levels may be inhibited or not properly recorded because of fear
of early disclosure under the Act. This was never intended to
be the effect of the Act, and we believe that it can be dealt
with by the proper application of the protection provided in section
35 of the Act, firm guidance to senior civil servants about the
extent of the protections provided and, where necessary and appropriate,
by the use of the ministerial veto to protect the "safe space"
for such discussions. We also note that disclosure of such discussions
is as likely to occur through major public inquiries or court
proceedings as it is under the Freedom of Information Act.
242. We believe that openness should follow public
money when public services are outsourced, and in our view this
can best be achieved through clear and enforceable contract provisions
rather than by designating commercial companies under the Act,
which should be retained as a last resort.
243. We believe that there is a specific problem
for ongoing research in universities which needs to be addressed
by provisions on the lines of those operating in Scotland under
the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and we call for
the time limits in the Act to be put into statute, but with these
exceptions we see no pressing need for legislative change to an
Act which is serving the nation well.
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