Westminster Hall adjournment debate on proposals for public authorities to be able to refuse freedom of information requests on costs grounds.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on proposals for public authorities to be able to refuse freedom of information requests on costs grounds.

I sought the debate so that hon. and right hon. Members, who, like me, have serious misgivings about the plans of the Department for Constitutional Affairs to amend the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regulations, could explore the arguments with the Minister before the consultation ends on 8 March. The...

I sought the debate so that hon. and right hon. Members, who, like me, have serious misgivings about the plans of the Department for Constitutional Affairs to amend the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regulations, could explore the arguments with the Minister before the consultation ends on 8 March. The...

Yes, spinning. In the response to the Constitutional Affairs Committee’s report, the Government said that they welcomed and shared the Committee’s assessment, adding:"““While the government is pleased by the significant success that FOI represents it will continue to build on that success.””" To me, that it is a commitment. The...

Yes, spinning. In the response to the Constitutional Affairs Committee’s report, the Government said that they welcomed and shared the Committee’s assessment, adding:"““While the government is pleased by the significant success that FOI represents it will continue to build on that success.””" To me, that it is a commitment. The...

I understand my hon. Friend’s point. Like many colleagues in the Chamber today from all parties, throughout my political life as a councillor and as a Minister, the one thing I was a told was, ““If you do that, it would be setting a precedent.”” If we had not set...

I understand my hon. Friend’s point. Like many colleagues in the Chamber today from all parties, throughout my political life as a councillor and as a Minister, the one thing I was a told was, ““If you do that, it would be setting a precedent.”” If we had not set...

I was about to come to that point in response to my hon. Friend. If the aggregation provisions are included, they could be used against a newspaper, which could then find that the requests made by all its journalists to a particular authority during a 60-day period were refused once...

I was about to come to that point in response to my hon. Friend. If the aggregation provisions are included, they could be used against a newspaper, which could then find that the requests made by all its journalists to a particular authority during a 60-day period were refused once...

I believe that there has been progress and there are opportunities to make further progress along that particular avenue, through greater efficiencies, using IT systems and so on. These regulations are not needed as far as that process is concerned. What is the driving force behind these so-called reforms? The...

I believe that there has been progress and there are opportunities to make further progress along that particular avenue, through greater efficiencies, using IT systems and so on. These regulations are not needed as far as that process is concerned. What is the driving force behind these so-called reforms? The...

I rarely regret accepting an intervention, but that is the rest of my speech just delivered for me. I take on board the hon. Gentleman’s point, and I shall refer to it as I develop my argument. The more people the authority decides to invite to a meeting to discuss...

I rarely regret accepting an intervention, but that is the rest of my speech just delivered for me. I take on board the hon. Gentleman’s point, and I shall refer to it as I develop my argument. The more people the authority decides to invite to a meeting to discuss...

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. It is very difficult for us as parliamentarians to find ourselves frustrated when Parliament has clearly expressed its will on the matter.

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. It is very difficult for us as parliamentarians to find ourselves frustrated when Parliament has clearly expressed its will on the matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for Internal Reviews of Requests for Information he has received in each of the last three years; and how many were completed within 40 working days of receipt of the application.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for Internal Reviews of Requests for Information he has received in each of the last three years; and how many were completed within 40 working days of receipt of the application.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on the time taken to respond to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on the time taken to respond to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been received by his Department in fees for the provision of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in its first year of operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been received by his Department in fees for the provision of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in its first year of operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on charging for information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on charging for information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in the first year of its operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in the first year of its operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were refused by his Department in its first year of the Act's operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were refused by his Department in its first year of the Act's operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were met within 20 working days by his Department in the first year of the Act's operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were met within 20 working days by his Department in the first year of the Act's operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to his Department which have been passed to the FOI clearing house for evaluation, broken down by (a) subject and (b) date of request.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to his Department which have been passed to the FOI clearing house for evaluation, broken down by (a) subject and (b) date of request.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many freedom of information applications his Department has received; how many have taken more than 20 days to process; and how many of these gave rise to complaints about the time taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many freedom of information applications his Department has received; how many have taken more than 20 days to process; and how many of these gave rise to complaints about the time taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests he has received to disclose information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and what the average time taken to make a decision on the disclosures has been.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests he has received to disclose information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and what the average time taken to make a decision on the disclosures has been.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on UK participation in the Aarhus Convention as it applies to freedom of information obligations in environmental affairs of a defence nature, with particular reference to (a) depleted uranium and (b) nuclear material.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on UK participation in the Aarhus Convention as it applies to freedom of information obligations in environmental affairs of a defence nature, with particular reference to (a) depleted uranium and (b) nuclear material.