Leader — A clear case for transparency

The idea of open and transparent government is to enable local people to get involved in democratic processes and help influence decision-making.

Unfortunately the inner workings of institutions and authorities often remain opaque.

Much information that should be publicly available is kept hidden. Freedom of Information laws, designed to help access this information are often refused for reasons of “commercial sensitivity”.

Some requests can even be denied for being merely annoying, or in official parlance, “vexatious”. A recent FoI by the Hackney Citizen’ to the Town Hall asking for its “if asked lines” or pre-prepared media statements, was denied for this very reason.

Compiled by public authorities using public money in anticipation of media requests, these ‘if asked lines’ are kept on file, until a journalist poses the “right question” and triggers their release.

Ignoring protestations from the Town Hall that the FoI was merely a “fishing expedition” the Information Commissioners Office has ordered the council to hand them over.

Whether this is lazy journalism or a clever way of getting gatekeepers to release sequestered information is less important than the Council’s justifications for trying to maintain secrecy.

If something has happened news-worthy enough for the press team to put together a council response – the public should be informed of it .

Ideally, “if asked” statements would not even exist.  A statement prepared “in the event of” an event that hasn’t actually taken place is at best an exercise in imagination and at worst a waste of public time and money.

The Information Commissioners’ decision is timely, as the Conservative government announces a review into FoI laws many interpret as a move to water down the powers that help hold authorities to account.

The Council should publish its if asked as a matter of course in the public interest.