Fifteen minutes of consideration time
Does dealing with freedom of information requests take up a lot of ministerial time?
Well, not in the case of the FOI minister herself, Baroness (Cathy) Ashton, who told the yesterday that in over two years since FOI came into force, she reckoned that the amount of time she had spent on considering FOI requests was about fifteen minutes.
Other interesting points from her evidence were:
• She divided the 230 responses to the government's previous consultation into three categories - (1) those completely opposed to the government's plans, (2) those who had concerns about how they could lead to additional bureaucracy or excuses to evade FOI requests, and (3) those who thought the government was heading in the right direction. She revealed that the third category was the smallest of the three.
• She informed the committee that the Department for Constitutional Affairs was in discussion with the National Archives on how best to preserve governmental FOI disclosures for posterity.
• She placed much stress on promoting co-operation between requesters and public authorities, and how this could help solve problems over time-consuming but legitimate requests.
Meanwhile the past few days have seen much uncertainty over whether the Bill to exempt MPs from FOI will get another chance to pass through the Commons this Friday, but at time of writing it seems more likely that MPs will instead be devoting their time then to debating the regulation of lending by building societies.
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Quote "it seems more likely that MPs will instead be devoting their time then to debating the regulation of lending by building societies" unquote
What I find incredible is there is still doubt about which course the MPs will chose. I reminded strongly of those shell games conducted in central London it pays you to stay away from to avoid being fleeced. I think they have one shell but a choice of two peas
"But at time of writing it seems more likely that MPs will instead be devoting their time then to debating the regulation of lending by building societies."
Ah, but for how long? What if this Bill only lasts a short time, or no time at all, and then there are hours left for the FoI Bill? Those who talked the FoI Bill out last week best be prepared to talk for hours on the prior Butterfill Bill you mention, or else risk the NIMPY (Not In MY Palace Yard) Bill, exempting Parliament from FoI, getting through this week. And the same process may have to be repeated on any of the remaining available Fridays until other Bills displace it.
Please support my No. 10 petition against the FoI (Amendment) Bill: