Why Freedom of Information is important - Alan Beddow explains. (Warwick & Leamington Liberal Democrats)

Warwick & Leamington Liberal Democrats <info@warwick-leamington-libdems.org.uk>

Why Freedom of Information is important - Alan Beddow explains.

June 14, 2007 3:03 PM

Alan Beddow is the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Warwick and Leamington and is campaigning against the change.

The freedom of information act means that we have the right to ask for information about how our government is running our country. Now the government is there to take decisions and spend our taxes on our behalf to provide the services we need. It is important to remember that our government is there to serve us.

So the fact that we can hold our government to account is a very important part of democracy. I believe that this should include our MP's who we elect to represent us in our government.

Some people think that the vote to make MP's except from the Freedom of Information Act is all about MP's being able to hide how much they spend on expenses. I believe the issue is wider than that. I believe it is about accountability of Government including the role our elected MP's play in it.

Now of course there needs to be safeguards in this, to stop personal information being disclosed. I believe that there are already enough safeguards in place to protect this.

This question was raised to Baroness Ashton at the Ministry of Justice last week. The minister was asked whether the government propose to amend either the Freedom Of Information Act or the Data Protection Act to provide greater protection for information supplied by MPs to public authorities and replied that, 'there are provisions within the Acts to protect such information where appropriate' and that 'the Government has not been notified of any improper disclosure of personal or confidential information communicated to public authorities by MPs'. (Lords Hansard 4 Jun 2007: Column WA157 & 158)

Even if the Information Commissioner had evidence of improper disclosure of correspondence, surely a better course of action would be to tighten up the provisions in Sections 40 and 41 rather than to significantly weaken the Act by exempting the elected representatives of that government?

That is why I am campaigning to make sure the Freedom of Information Act stays as it is.

The second reading in the Lords will be later this month and Lib Dem peers have promised to do all they can to stop this Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill becoming law. People are very concerned about how this weakens the accountability of our government.

More information can be found in the websites quoted at the bottom of this page.

LATEST UPDATE-

The good news is that your lobbying of Lib-Dem peers has paid off. Despite reports a few weeks ago that Conservative peer Lord Trefgarne would take on the bill, no member of the House of Lords has come forward to sponsor it, effectively killing the bill off.

We mustn't be complacent: the Labour Government has shown little commitment to its own Freedom of Information Act and ministers are still muttering about watering it down. The Liberal Democrats will continue to support the principle of open government, and we will be monitoring for any future attempts to weaken the law - including any moves to resurrect David Maclean's bill.