§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on progress on the review of access to information in local authorities relating to the Local Government Act 2000. [73109]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe implementation plan which we issued, following the publication of the 2001 White Paper "Strong Local Leadership, quality Public Services" indicated that we would be reviewing the local authority access to information regime from June 2002. Officials have now begun discussions with the Information Commissioner, the Local Government Association and others to identify key issues for analysis in the review.
We intend, as the next step, to publish during the summer a policy paper to examine the key issues involved, including the future implications for the local government sector of the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The paper will seek to identify practical issues which local authorities are now facing and invite views, in particular from councils, the Local Government Association and the Campaign for Freedom of Information, on the issues discussed and to come forward with examples of good practice. We will place copies of the policy paper the House Library.
We plan to continue working with the Local Government Association, the Information Commissioner and others to secure the most sound and practical implementation by local government of the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We want to link this with a streamlining of the current access to information requirements to maintain and re-enforce the culture of openness and transparency which is essential to effective, democratic local government.