§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the charging policy of his Department and the agencies 109W for which he is responsible in respect of inquiries under the code of practice on access to Government.
§ Mr. BaldryIn line with guidance on charging produced by the Office of Public Service and Science, which recognises the diversity of cost and operational structure across the range of bodies implementing the code, my Department has adopted the following policy on charging for information under the code of practice on access to government information.
Straightforward inquiries made to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office under the code of practice may attract a flat rate fee of £15. If extensive work which would not otherwise be done is necessary to provide the information required, a higher charge would be made, but an estimate of the cost would be given before any work was undertaken. Practically all enquiries received by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Overseas Development Administration are made without reference to the code and continue to be answered free of charge.
In cases where the Overseas Development Administration—including the Natural Resources Institute—make a charge, it did so on the basis of an individual assessment, in which cases an estimate of the cost would be provided in advance.