There should be an open list of public authorities that are covered by the Freedom of Information Act, a group of transparency advocates has said.
The Open Government Network, a collection of organisations “committed to making government work better for people”, included the suggestion in its newly published Open Government Manifesto.
The proposal states that there should be an ‘Open Register’ of bodies covered by FOI laws, as well as more bodies being covered by the Act, a roadmap for getting more authorities covered, and requirements to consider introducing FOI to newly created public authorities.
At present Schedule 1 of the Act lists some authorities and types of public authorities who are covered by FOI, but the Manifesto, which puts forward plans for the next two years of the Open Government Partnership, says: “HMG to create an Open Register of Public authorities, with indication whether they are currently subject to Freedom of Information or Environmental Information Regulations”.
Other parts of the Manifesto cover lobbying transparency, data assets, opening up the court system, surveillance, and more.
The full entry on FOI is below:
