Image of Serco prison van
Justin Kase ztwoz / Alamy Stock Photo

Extending FOI to public sector contractors

A major loophole in the Freedom of Information Act means that it does not generally apply to contractors providing public goods and services. The Campaign has drafted an amendment to the Procurement Bill to ensure that information held by public sector contractors in connection with a contract is automatically subject to the FOI Act. 

National Security Bill proposals disproportionate and oppressive

The Campaign has highlighted the implications of the National Security Bill for civil organisations who receive some funding from friendly foreign governments for environmental, human rights or similar work. Journalists working for overseas broadcasters would also be at risk. They might commit an offence under the Bill for using leaked information in a way that prejudices the UK’s ‘interests or safety’ – interests which would be defined by the government and are not limited to espionage or terrorism. The maximum sentence would be life imprisonment. 

Yavuz Sariyildiz / Alamy Stock Photo
Image of Freedom of Information text on paper being shredded
Ian Simpson / Alamy Stock Photo

Strengthening FOI legislation

There are some areas where we believe the Freedom of Information Act needs to be strengthened, in particular to address the serious delays that sometimes occur before public authorities answer requests or carry out internal reviews. We are pressing for tighter time limits in the FOI Act and for the Information Commissioner’s Office to do more to address delays by using its power to serve ‘enforcement notices’ on public authorities with large backlogs of overdue requests. 

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