Ever since the Freedom of Information Act came into force nearly 20 years ago, some unhappy public bodies have protested loudly about the resulting ‘administrative burden’. But what is less appreciated is how numerous authorities actually seem to find the law useful – to obtain information themselves.
A few weeks ago Redcar and Cleveland Council issued a statement asking that the new Labour government ‘significantly revises the scope of the act to reduce the burden on councils’.
The particular grievances itemised included the usual targets of FOI applications emanating from businesses and journalists, but the council also focused its ire on ones which came from ‘local/national government’.
Intrigued by this, I asked the council (under FOI, naturally) for details of recent requests from local and national government. And it turned out that there were more than I expected, covering a wide range of council responsibilities. See the list below.
In my view these are entirely reasonable and legitimate requests. If FOI enables councils to find comparable information from their counterparts, which assists with policy development, service provision, budgeting and external contracting, that is not a reason to curtail the law – it is another reason to stress how useful FOI is in contributing to the general public interest.
Incidentally, there weren’t actually any applications from national government departments, despite what Redcar and Cleveland Council claimed. There were however numerous requests from MPs and Peers (or their staff), which the council bizarrely lists as coming from ‘National Government Departments’, but that is obviously not the same thing.
Since January 2022, Redcar and Cleveland Council has received the following 29 FOI requests from public authorities (26 from other councils and three from national quangos):
- Oadby and Wigston Council, about financial workflow systems
- Luton Council, about the workings of rent deposit schemes
- Swindon Council, about demand for housing repairs
- Rugby Council, about demolition and refurbishment projects
- North Warwickshire Council, about website features and management
- Isle of Wight Council, about adult social care reviews
- Bradford Council, about workforce allyship programmes
- Darlington Council, about wheelchair swings in play areas
- East Suffolk Council, about information risk policy
- Buckinghamshire Council, about HR and finance reporting systems
- Birmingham Council, about pupil travel costs
- North Northants Council, about energy efficiency in privately rented properties
- Trafford Council, about planning applications for residential care homes
- Havant Council, about externally provided finance systems
- Cumberland Council, about safety of artificial caving systems
- Cardiff Council, about compensation payments following complaints
- Cumberland Council, about developments and highway alterations
- North Yorkshire Council, about direct payments for personal care
- Leicester Council, about public spaces protection orders
- East Riding Council, about HR and payroll systems
- Durham Council, about allotment policies
- Basildon Council, about male victims of domestic abuse
- Bedford and Nuneaton Council, about decarbonising social housing
- Darlington Council, about enquiries from MPs on transport matters
- South Staffordshire Council, about the use of online forms
- Ealing Council, about staffing for communications work on housing
- Environment Agency, about private water supplies
- UK Health Security Agency, about mosquito habitats and control
- Office of National Statistics, about data on forms of housing need