Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Conclusion 1
Ninth Report - The Cabinet Office Freedom of Information Clearing House
Published 29 Apr 2022
Paragraph 19
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee The Cabinet Office Freedom of Information Clearing House All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Through disclosures about the Clearing House over time, the Government has sought to make amends for the absence of information regarding a core component of the Government’s Freedom of Information machinery. However, the level of disclosure falls short of what was previously available, and what was requested by our predecessor Committee. We note that data on the volume of cases was previously available, showing number of references by Department on a monthly basis. Experts in Freedom of Information—including the Information Commissioner’s Office itself—still find themselves unable to comment on whether the Clearing House provides a necessary or helpful role in that landscape. We note with concern the lack of effective record keeping in the Clearing House on its performance, which falls below the standard expected for a central Government body.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Ninth Report - The Cabinet Office Freedom of Information Clearing House (HC 505), paragraph 19, 29 April 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 7 July 2022.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government largely does not adopt the Committee's recommendations, and in place of an external ICO audit it is relying on an internal review led by Sue Langley OBE.
- On transparency, the government "notes" the Committee's concerns but its "present view" is that quarterly statistics on referrals would be "a disproportionate use of resources for a de minimis function".
- On the ICO audit, it considers an internal review "a proportionate response"; the Langley review will look at whether further information should be published, and the government will "update Parliament and the Committee in due course".
- On practice, it states that all FOI requests are handled "on an applicant blind basis" and that it is "legitimate" for Special Advisers to assist on requests. It says it would be "wrong" for the Cabinet Office to intervene in another department's procedures.
- On the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, it says the exemption was agreed by both Houses and it "has no plans to revisit this decision". Work to revise guidance on non-corporate communication channels "has now resumed".