Source: Home Office (UK)

085/99
12 March 1999

GOVERNMENT TAKES ACTION TO CREATE
A CULTURE OF OPENNESS

Steps to create a culture of openness, prior to the publication of a draft Freedom of Information Bill, have been announced today by the Home Secretary Jack Straw.

An Advisory Group on Openness in the Public Sector has been established to:

• advise the Home Secretary on proposals for promoting cultural change in the public sector to foster a culture of greater openness;
• assist in the development of training and education programmes for public servants to promote cultural change and facilitate the introduction of Freedom of Information;
• undertake other tasks related to the implementation of Freedom of Information as directed by the Home Secretary.

The Group is being chaired by Home Office Minister Lord Williams and the members are drawn from a variety of backgrounds. It will submit recommendations to the Home Secretary before the end of the year.

Mr Straw said:

"The Government's programme of constitutional reform seeks to involve people more closely in the decisions which affect their lives.

"Freedom of Information is a fundamental part of that process and should significantly transform the relationship between citizens and the state.

"The Government hopes to publish a draft bill on Freedom of Information in May. It will allow for a period of public consultation, as well as appropriate pre-legislative scrutiny by the Public Administration Committee of the House of Commons.

"Legislation, while necessary, is in itself however not sufficient. There is a substantial programme of work needed to create a culture of openness in all public services and lay the foundations for the implementation of a future Freedom of Information Act."

In addition, the Government has announced that, with effect from 15 March, a further 158 non-departmental public bodies will be brought within the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and made subject to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

The Code of Practice commits public bodies to:

• give facts and analysis with major policy decisions;
• open up internal guidelines about dealings with the public;
• give reasons with administrative decisions; and
• provide information about their service to the public.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The announcement was made in response to a Parliamentary Question from Rhodri Morgan MP (Cardiff West).

2. The Advisory Group on Openness will publish the minutes of its meetings on the Home Office Internet Website. The address is http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/

3. The members of the Group include:

Mr Andrew Adonis, Policy Unit, 10 Downing Street
Mr Jonathan Baume, General Secretary, First Division Association
Ms Rowena Collins-Rice, Home Office
Ms Elizabeth France, Data Protection Registrar
Ms Aviva Gershuny-Roth, Former Head of Corporate Communications, Energy Group plc
Mrs Christine Gifford, Former Member of the Metropolitan Police Civil Staff
Professor Robert Hazell, School of Public Policy, University College London
Mr Lee Hughes, Home Office
Dr Dilys Jones, Clinical Strategy Director, NHS Executive
Ms Catherine Lee, Cabinet Office
Dr Andrew McDonald, Public Record Office
Mr John Mills, Cornwall County Council
Ms Carolyn Sinclair, Home Office

4. On 10 February 1999 Her Majesty in Council approved an Order extending the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration to an additional 111 executive non-departmental public bodies and 47 advisory non-departmental public bodies.

All non-departmental public bodies should operate in line with the spirit of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. However, only those non-departmental public bodies with the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Ombudsman are formally subject to the Code and, more importantly, subject to independent investigation by the Ombudsman if they refuse to provide access to information.

Examples include:

• Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes
• Food Advisory Committee
• Monopolies and Mergers Commission
• National Consumer Council
• National Lottery Charities Board
• New Millennium Experience Company Ltd
• United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
• Youth Justice Board for England and Wales