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Minister hints at extending FOIA to additional bodies

The government is considering carefully whether to extend the Freedom of Information Act to additional bodies, a minister has confirmed.

Speaking on the BBC’s You and Yours, Lord McNally said: “The government is committed to increasing transparency, including extending the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.

“We are carefully considering the different ways of achieving this aim, including looking at the extension of the Act to additional bodies. Any extension of the FOI Act will need to take into account of the burdens that this would place on the bodies to be covered.”

The Ministry of Justice said the government planned to proactively publish “significant amounts” of information.

Recent announcements include:

  • Publication of information from the Treasury’s COINS database about government spending
  • Release of details of details of civil servants earning over £150,000
  • Plans to publish details of all government contracts worth more than £150,000.

The MoJ said details of public servants’ salaries above £58,000 will be published later this month.

Lord McNally said: “Alongside our drive for transparency, we must ensure that genuinely sensitive information is protected. We need to get the balance right.”