Parts of the health service, police and local
authorities will not be fully prepared for the Freedom of
Information Act, which comes into force in January, a parliamentary
committee has concluded.
Lack of central government guidance on IT systems, indecision
over fees, and the late delivery of government advice, have left
public bodies with little time to comply , the Constitutional
Affairs Committee warned
"The law demands that all areas of public service covered by the
Act should be ready by 1 January 2005. We are not confident that
adequate preparations have been made," the committee said in a
critical report.
The committee raised particular concerns about the health
sector, accusing the government of failing to provide the necessary
leadership to address technical and organisational problems before
the January deadline.
FOI seemed to be regarded as another hurdle that had to
surmounted in the health service, with little sign of any cultural
change towards openness, MPs on the committee concluded.
Local authorities were given only weeks to prepare for some
aspects of Freedom of Information, following delays in issuing
guidance by the Department of Constitutional Affairs. They are only
likely to cope if the there is a relatively low level of FOI
requests.
Although police forces were generally better prepared, the DCA
may have cost tax payers millions by asking forces to produce
individual specifications for FOI workflow systems, rather than
produce a central specification.
"Central guidance appears to have been lacking in important
areas," the report concludes, while guidance on technical issues
and IT systems was delivered late.