Minister rows back on plan to extend FOI to contractors

The government will seek to promote greater transparency among private firms working on public contracts, but is not about to formally extend Freedom of Information law to cover outsourcing, the justice minister has said.

This week Liberal Democrat justice minister Simon Hughes sparked concern when he told MPs that Freedom of Information law (FOI) would be extended to private companies carrying out public contracts.

Speaking in parliament he said the government would “make sure that those private companies that carry out public functions have freedom of information requirements in their contracts”.

However, today the minister sought to row back on those comments, releasing a statement saying that while the government wanted to promote greater transparency among private firms carrying out public contracts, this would not involve extending to FOI law.

Instead, the government plans to publish a voluntary code of practice that will seek to encourage public authorities to be more open when replying to Freedom of Information requests about outsourced public services, rather than simply dismissing those requests on the basis that private firms are not covered by FOI law.

Hughes said: “We will continue to look at extending the scope of FOI. I want public authorities to interpret their obligations about information held by contractors broadly and go beyond the bare minimum required under the Act.

“As previously announced, later this year we are publishing a revised Code of Practice to promote openness about outsourced public services in response to FOI requests.”

The Ministry of Justice added that if this voluntary approach does not lead to greater transparency, then it would consider “what other steps would be appropriate”.