Open Government (Hansard, 22 May 2002)

§ Mr. Wills

With the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we have legislated to give to the people of this country, for the first time ever, a general statutory right to know. The timetable we have announced will ensure that full implementation of this new right is completed 11 months before the statutory deadline set out in the Act itself. The publication scheme provisions of the Act will be implemented first, on a rolling programme, starting with central Government in 2002. This roll out will be completed in June 2004 and the individual right of access to information held by all public authorities will be implemented in January 2005.

This approach will give public authorities the time they need to put into effect the change of culture necessary to ensure the legal rights are delivered in practice. It also aligns with the 2004 target for the completion of the Government's electronic records management. This initiative will enable the fast retrieval and accurate creation and storage of records that will be necessary to meet the demands of the Freedom of Information Act.

In his annual statutory report to Parliament in November 2001, the Lord Chancellor reported on the progress that had been made towards the implementation of the Act. In particular, he said that each Department had appointed a senior official to 'Champion' freedom of information within their Department and to lead culture change from the top of the organisation. Crucial developments are already taking place in the area of records management and Departments are preparing to meet the targets for the 2004 target for full electronic management of records. The Information Commissioner has already set up five pilot publication schemes with central Government organisation and I look forward to seeing similar pilots in local authorities and the police in the near future.

The report also announced the formation of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Group on Implementation of the Act. The group includes members from representative organisations from across the public sector and independent representatives to advise the Lord Chancellor on what users will need in order to take advantage of their rights under the Freedom of Information Act. It has already met twice and the next meeting will take place in July.

A seminar for Ministers was held in March of this year, where Ministers were reminded of their key role in delivering compliance with the Act and a new culture of openness. In particular, we noted that there should be a Minister in each Department with responsibility for 410W implementing freedom of information in that Department, its agencies and sponsored non-departmental public bodies; and those Ministers should take an active interest in the delivery of the Act within these Departments.

I have recently completed a series of road shows around the country to raise awareness of the Act at a senior level in public authorities. These events were attended by around 1,000 officials from across the public sector and officials in my Department intend to run a series of workshops in the autumn to follow-up these road shows.

This year's report, to be published in November, will contain further details of developments in all these areas. In the same month, publication schemes will come into force for central Government and other bodies already applying the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. These schemes will provide greater access to information for all members of the public.

Officials from the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Division in my Department have undertaken awareness-raising seminars and will continue to do so. These have been held in a wide range of Departments including: the Cabinet Office; the Home Office; the Department of Health; the Northern Ireland civil service as well as in my Department. Officials also speak at the civil service college course on freedom of information and have spoken on courses and conferences arranged by other organisations. In these sessions, officials are reminded of the requirement to comply with the existing Code of Practice on Access to Government Information when answering requests for information until the Freedom of Information Act comes fully into effect in January 2005.

More information about the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is available on the Department's website at www.lcd.gov.uk.