The Independent Commission on Freedom of Information has called for evidence for its review of the Act.

As stated by campaign groups the Commission poses a threat to the right to access information in the United Kingdom.

The most effective way to stop the Commission from restricting the Act and encouraging it to recommend more transparency not less, is by an evidence-based approach. The more people and organisations which give details of how the Freedom of Information Act improves openness, transparency, access to information, and democracy in the United Kingdom, the greater the chance of the Commission concluding that the Act is a positive instrument.

The deadline for responses is midnight on November 20, and there are three ways to submit evidence. For detailed and wide ranging evidence we recommend the second option.

Webform

The consultation, on the Ministry of Justice’s webpages, will ask you for the following details.

Step 1:

Name
Email address. It is optional. (This allows you to go back and edit the document).
Organisation

Step 2:

The six questions.

Step 3:

Asks for an email address to a receipt to be sent to. This is optional.

Submit evidence using the webform here. 

Email

If webforms aren’t your thing – they’re certainly not this websites – then you can send your consultation responses by email.

The Commission has posed six questions it wants answers to but this method allows evidence to be provided in a different form. The web form only has space for answers to the six questions.

Whereas sending evidence by email means that extra attachments can be sent and the evidence can be provided in a different form than just the answers to the six questions.

There’s not a recommended format but sending evidence in PDF and also Word format may be useful, as it will allow easier reuse of the evidence, if the Commission wishes to do so.

The email address to submit evidence to is: foi.commission@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Post

Evidence can also be sent by post – although remember if picking this method the deadline is November 20.

Independent Commission on Freedom of Information
Post point 9.54
9th Floor
102 Petty France
London, SW1H 9AJ

I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.