§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what financial provisions will be made available to public authorities to process applications for information, following the implementation of his Freedom of Information proposals. [35776]
§ Dr. David ClarkPublic authorities will be expected to allocate resources to fulfil their duties under the Freedom of Information Act from within overall expenditure ceilings.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what figure he plans to set as a disproportionate cost or diversion of resources under the Gateway provisions of his Freedom of Information proposals. [35777]
§ Dr. David ClarkWe do not envisage the Freedom of Information Act specifying a fixed sum for what would amount to disproportionate cost or diversion of resources from other priorities. This would depend on the circumstances of the public authority concerned and the nature of the request.
As proposed in the White Paper, Your Right to Know, a decision by a public authority not to provide the information requested on these grounds would be appealable to the Information Commissioner who would take account of other discretionary cost thresholds such as that for answering Parliamentary Questions.