Information commissioner wants to extend FOI reach

The recently appointed Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, has told the BBC that she would like to see Freedom of Information (FOI) Act powers extended to improve the transparency of public services delivered by private companies.

Denham told journalists: “Private contractors above a certain threshold for a contract or doing some specific types of work could be included under the FOI Act. The government could do more to include private bodies that are basically doing work on behalf of the public.”

Denham is also keen to clamp down on public officials using private communication channels (such as Gmail) to conduct their work.

She said: “What concerns me is that in a digital age when everybody walks around with their devices clutched to their chests or in their pockets, we all become our own records managers.

“People shouldn’t be using private email accounts to conduct government business. If they do, legally it’s subject to FOI – however, it frustrates the purposes of FOI from a search perspective.”

In a previous role, Denham successfully lobbied (in her native country) for The British Columbia government to enact a “duty to document” law which she believes could be implemented in the UK.

“I think the principle is right. I need to understand more about the legal context in the UK to see where such a duty should rest.”

The News Media Association (NMA) has welcomed Denham’s commitment to extending the reach of FOI, featuring a quote from Maurice Frankel, founder of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, on their website stating: “The government is encouraging the contracting out of public services but each new contract weakens the public’s right to know because contractors are not subject to FOI

“It makes no sense for the public’s right to know whether a service is up to scratch to depend on who pays the relevant staff – the public authority or a contractor paid by the authority.”