Access to information presentation to the ICO by FOI specialist Martin Rosenbaum

Freedom of information (FOI) specialist Martin Rosenbaum recently gave a presentation to staff at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) about his 20 years of positive and negative experiences of FOI, along with his views on the ICO's regulatory record and work on FOI. 

Rosenbaum described his two decades of experience with FOI as opposite extremes, highlighting a significant inconsistency in how public authorities respond to requests. An example he cited involved two giraffes at different zoos, in which one council provided information in less than an hour. At the same time, another council took over five months and required intervention from the ICO. The process worked in both cases, but only the former example can be construed as FOI working well.

Rosenbaum noted that while the FOI system can work very badly, it has become well-established as a tool that many people use successfully. He pointed out that the number of FOI requests to government departments has remained steady at around 35,000 annually for over a decade.

He also argued that the negative comments from former prime ministers, including Tony Blair's famous condemnation of the FOI Act, actually strengthen the case for FOI, as it is designed to hold people in power to account. To this end, Rosenbaum noted that the FOI system is now so well-established that it would be "politically impossible" for a government to significantly weaken it, referencing a review commissioned by David Cameron's Conservative government, which, despite being led by sceptics, ultimately concluded that the law was working well and should not be restricted.