Government lawyers this week began a legal battle to
prevent the publication of confidential reports into the
feasibility of the £5.4bn ID cards programme.
The Office of
Government Commerce, a Treasury agency, is pitting itself
against the information commissioner in a five-day hearing that
will determine whether it has the right to withhold the reports
from public scrutiny.
The case, being conducted at the Information Tribunal in London,
could set a legal precedent that would force government departments
to routinely publish
Gateway reviews into the progress and potential
risks of public IT projects.
The OGC has hired a team of lawyers to fight an order from
information commissioner Richard Thomas to publish a Gateway review
which assesses the business case for the ID cards programme.
As part of its case, the OGC accuses Thomas of "failing to live
in the real world". The department claims that Thomas has failed to
understand the need for civil servants to be able to offer frank
advice to reviewers without fear that their views could become
public.
But the information commissioner argues that this approach is
"far too restrictive", saying there is no reason for Gateway
reviews to be treated as wholly exempt from publication.
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