Skip to content
openDemocracy
Subscribe

The FOI system is utterly broken. Here’s how to fix it

Requests for government information are delayed to the extent of rendering them pointless. This only serves politicians in getting off the hook

By Jenna Corderoy
The FOI system is utterly broken. Here’s how to fix it
The Cabinet Office is stalling on FOI requests
Published:
Share

I’m sitting at my computer, reading the latest email from the information watchdog. I let out a long sigh. I’ve been waiting a whole year for a response to my complaint, but this email just tells me to carry on waiting.

As a journalist, I use the Freedom of Information Act all the time to uncover information and hold the government to account. But when the government refuses to comply, I’m utterly powerless.

I send off complaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is meant to enforce transparency laws, but it has become toothless and overburdened. So all I can do now is wait, and hope.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. Please check individual images for licensing details.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0