§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the charging policy of his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible in respect of inquiries under the code of practice on access to Government.
§ Mr. FreemanIn general, my Department's policy is to defray the marginal extra costs of answering inquiries under the code of practice on access to government information. No charge is made if these amount to less than £50. Above that sum charges may be imposed up to a maximum of £200. Agencies with their own budgetary arrangements for which my Department has responsibility generally follow this policy but have freedom to seek my Department's agreement to develop their own charging policies, within the spirit of the code, according to their own particular requirements. A copy of my Department's internal instructions in relation to the open government initiative—including charging policy—was placed in the library of the House when the code of practice came into force.