This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.
License [2]: Creative Commons 4.0 - Attributions/No Derivities/Int'l.
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Cabinet Office announces review into controversial FOI unit
By: []
Date: 2021-09
The UK government is set to review its ‘Orwellian’ unit that handles requests for information, following an investigation by openDemocracy.
A Cabinet Office minister, Chloe Smith, announced an “assessment of the role of the Clearing House”, which vets “sensitive” requests from journalists and others.
It comes after openDemocracy won a landmark court case against the government, amid allegations that the Clearing House was being used to “blacklist” journalists and campaigners.
In the ruling, the judge criticised the government’s “profound lack of transparency”, which it said may extend to ministers.
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Writing to William Wragg MP, chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC), Smith said that the review would “identify if or where guidance might be improved or clarified”.
The committee is also currently holding its own inquiry into the Cabinet Office Clearing House, sparked by openDemocracy’s tribunal victory.
The Cabinet Office has repeatedly been criticised by the Information Commissioner’s Office, which regulates information rights in the UK, over lengthy delays.
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