The UK government is facing a parliamentary inquiry into its handling of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests following a court case that exposed transparency failings.
The inquiry, launched by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) this Thursday, will examine whether a secretive unit in the Cabinet Office, known as the Clearing House, has broken FOI laws.
Conservative MP William Wragg, the chair of the House of Commons committee, said the inquiry was needed because “the perceived opacity of how the FOI Clearing House operates has the potential to damage trust in governance and transparency legislation. As a matter of trust, we felt it is something that must be addressed at the earliest opportunity.”
