STOP PRESS (14th June 2007)

The period for finding a sponsor for the Bill in the House of Lords has expired without a sponsor coming forward. Unless a sponsor is found to revive the Bill it will die (see Lack of Lords sponsor wrecks plan to exempt MPs from FoI Act - The Guardian 14th June 2007).

If this Bill is passed, both the House of Commons and the House of Lords will be removed from the list of ""public authorities" covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In addition much of Members' more important correspondence will become "exempt information".

If it is passed, one of the consequences will be to remove the recently confirmed obligation of the House of Commons administration office to reveal details of MPs' expenses and allowances (in "Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v Information Commissioner and Norman Baker MP, appeal to the Information Tribunal on 16th January 2007"). Another will be to prevent challenges to the Information Commissioner if a member of the public wants an MP to provide more information.

The Liberal Democrats have led opposition to the Bill which they see as making one law for MPs and another for everyone else. They introduced their own alternative, a Freedom of Information (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, which had its first reading in the House of Commons on 12th June 2007.

Quite apart from this Bill, the government has its own separate cost saving plans which will have the effct of making it more difficult for members of the public to exercise the right to obtain information under the 2000 Act (see notes at Freedom of Information generally).