Thoughts on the Future
Chapter 26 calls for the structure of the 2000 Act to be simplified. All exemptions should be subject to the public interest test. Freedom of information should be dealt with in the same way as environmental information. Government departments’ need for a safe space to develop policy should be clarified. There should be no extension of the right of veto. All executive override certificates should be referred to the High Court, which should review such certificates, applying the principle of proportionality, and the Court’s decision should be final. Freedom of information should be properly funded: it is part of access to justice which is fundamental to democracy. The recommendations of David Anderson QC’s report ‘A Question of Trust’ should be implemented. In the cold light of day, it is difficult to see what a British Bill of Rights could achieve which would be of benefit to the United Kingdom.