BBC News | UK POLITICS | Straw defends freedom bill

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Tuesday, 7 December, 1999, 22:52 GMT

Straw defends freedom bill

Home Secretary Jack Straw has faced calls from his own side in the Commons to strengthen powers aimed at promoting freedom of information and open government.

The Freedom of Information Bill was given a second reading without a vote by MPs after a Tory bid to block the measure was defeated by 377 votes to 138, government majority 239.

The bill will, for the first time, give the public a statutory right to know. An Information Commissioner will be appointed with the power to order any public body, from ministers down, to disclose information, subject to the harm test and the "class exemptions" of national security and policy advice.

But Mr Straw came under sustained attack from MPs from all sides over plans to exempt the advice given to ministers in the formulation of policy from disclosure.

Opening the debate, he defended the legislation, insisting it was stronger in several important respects than the white paper setting out the original proposals in 1997.

We have had to secure a balance between the right of information needed for freedom of expression, and the right of individuals to protection of information about themselves.
Jack Straw

He also insisted he had been right to exempt policy advice given to ministers, and to give public bodies and private companies a weaker test to apply on disclosure of information.

The home secretary said the "substantial harm" test favoured by freedom of information campaigners rested on an uncertain definition of the word "substantial".

The "test of prejudice" in the bill was more likely to encourage public bodies and private companies to develop a culture of openness, he told MPs.

Bill 'protects weak ministers'

But former public service minister Dr David Clark, who produced the original white paper and was a cabinet champion for wider-ranging freedom of information legislation before being sacked in the 1998 reshuffle, urged changes to the bill.

Dr Clark said there was confusion about the precise power of the proposed Information Commissioner in relation to ministers.

He called on Mr Straw to make a concession over releasing the "background notes" produced by advisers to ministers for use in formulating policy.

Otherwise the government ran the risk of protecting "weak ministers and also weak advisers".

'A backwards step'

But Labour's Tony Wright, chair of the Public Administration Select Committee, said there was a public interest in knowing the background information that shaped government policy.

"As the bill stands, it means that all information relating in any way to the development of policy, including purely factual background information, stands exempt," he said.

Shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe described the legislation as a "missed opportunity" and a "step backwards".

Mr Straw, she said, was "backtracking" from a pledge in the white paper to give the Information Commissioner power to force public authorities to release information.

Robert Maclennan, for the Liberal Democrats, said his party was "baffled and mystified" why Labour, which had been committed to freedom of information for 25 years, had watered down Dr Clark's original proposals.

He urged Mr Straw to make concessions on background advice to ministers to enable organisations such as the Consumers Association or Shelter to study it on behalf of the interest groups for whom they campaigned.

Related to this story:
Labour 'tightening up secrecy' - Tories (06 Dec 99 | UK Politics)
Straw unveils information bill (22 Oct 99 | UK Politics)
Open government on the way (17 Nov 99 | UK Politics)
Double attack on information bill (29 Jul 99 | UK Politics)
'Information changes not far enough' (22 Oct 99 | UK Politics)

Internet Links: The Freedom of Information Bill Charter88 The Campaign for Freedom of Information The Home Office Freedom of Information Unit
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