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Written evidence from the NHS Business Services Authority

Executive Summary 1 The Act has provided many benefits but it has taken some time to realise them. Further initiatives to promote proactive publication, clearer guidance for requesters and public authorities and additional requirements to improve the visibility of responses would increase these benefits. Does the Freedom of Information Act work effectively? 2 It is far more effective to proactively publish information of public interest than to react to piecemeal requests for it. Further developments within the Transparency agenda will help with this e.g. the recent Information Commissioners Office (ICO) guidance on the information Local Authorities should make routinely available. It would be helpful if these types of requirements were incorporated into the Act. 3 Many requesters assume data is held for longer than it actually is and that Public authorities hold more comprehensive data. This leads to a frustrating exercise for requesters where they have to apply to many different public authorities to obtain the information they seek. 4 Within the NHS a possible solution to this could be a high level map of who holds different information. Mandatory transfer of a request by a public authority, using such a high level map, would be helpful to requesters. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Freedom of Information Act? 5 Strengths i) It has enabled information to be released into the public domain which would not have otherwise been released. This has in turn provided value to businesses, the media, interest groups and members of the public. Public authorities are proactively releasing information to reduce the resource impact of FOI requests meaning that such disclosures are demand lead helping to ensure the effective use of public resources. Public authorities have been held more accountable for their spending of taxpayers money Delivering FOI request responses effectively enhances a public authoritys reputation for openness.

ii)

iii) iv)

6 Weaknesses i) The benefits have taken time to be realised as requesters and public authorities have developed their understanding of it. Clearer

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ii) central guidance, as provided under the Cabinet Office transparency agenda, would have meant faster realisation of the benefits. Implementation of the act is rapidly evolving and it is not easy for public authorities or requesters to keep up to date with the latest decisions on how FOI should operate. This leads to inconsistent decision making and frustration for requesters. We have found that most of the time we use just a few exemptions, (Sections 12, 21, 30, 31, 40, 41 and 43). However, where a less frequently used exemption is considered, a summary consolidation of IICO and Information Tribunal decisions would be helpful. The phrasing of the appropriate limit in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 leads to confusion about what the resource limit is. Simplified wording using 18/24 hours effort rather than 450/650 cost would be helpful.

iii)

Is the Freedom of Information Act operating in the way that it was intended to? 7 We would welcome making FOI disclosure logs mandatory together with the ICO being required to audit sample responses where information was with held. This would improve public authority accountability and the quality of responses made. 8 In addition, it would make it easier for requesters to determine what information the public authority held and what had already been made available. 9 The ICO does not have sufficient powers to enforce public authority compliance with the act. Powers similar to those available under the Data Protection Act would be helpful. January 2012