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 to the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, who in recent months has shown some teeth. Last year, among several reversals for the Government, he forced the release of the Attorney General's advice on going to war in Iraq - exposing a sequence of events that many thought showed the AG had been leant on.
Finding its right to rule in private threatened, the Government is seeking ways to limit freedom of information by stealth. At present, information requests from the public can be refused if the cost of finding the information exceeds a notional £600, equating to many hours of official research time. As most material is readily available, this expenditure cap is rarely invoked.
However, Government consultants have worked out that this let-out provides the perfect mechanism for a retreat from open government.
Under regulations set to come in this spring, the notional £600 limit will cover not only the time needed to find the information but also the time mandarins and ministers spend
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| Requests can be refused if the cost of finding the information exceeds a notional £600 |
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'considering' whether an exemption applies and where the public interest lies. Which virtually rules out disclosure of any controversial information.
And it gets worse. A second new rule will effectively stop campaigners and journalists, for whom information is stock in trade, asking too much. The trick the consultants have come up with is to extend the £600 limit to any individual or organisations's requests over a three-month period. For instance, a newspaper would only be allowed £600 worth of official research and 'consideration' time in any three months.
Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, has protested that "the Government is taking a scythe to its own Act".
Officially the changes are being made in the name of 'efficiency'. Yet even the Government admits it will save only £12m. Contrast that with the £322m spent on PR and advertising last year in Whitehall. New Labour will pay to tell the people what it thinks they should know, not what they want to know. 
FIRST POSTED JANUARY 16, 2007
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