The Government is considering significant restrictions on Freedom of Information (FOI) rights after the local government elections in May, according to a report in the Times newspaper.
Citing government sources, the newspaper reported that the government is exploring ways to limit the scope of FOI requests, citing the alleged security threat posed by China and the financial cost of administering the system.
The government does not keep figures for the costs of complying with the FOI regime although the number of requests made to central government departments in 2024 reached a new record of 83,041.
Transparency campaigners, however, warned that the true cost of such reforms would fall on democratic accountability, undermining mechanisms that allow journalists, campaigners and members of the public to scrutinise government decisions, public spending and institutional failures.
The Times also highlighted the role that FOI has played in exposing long‑term public controversies including major scandals such as those involving the Post Office and infected blood and suggested that reducing access to information could make similar abuses harder to detect.
The paper also noted that claims that existing legislation already contains extensive exemptions: the security services, GCHQ, and the National Crime Agency are entirely outside the FOI regime, and the law also protects against the “mosaic effect”, where isolated disclosures could be pieced together to reveal sensitive intelligence.
Cabinet Office spokesperson told InfoGov: "We do not comment on speculation or security matters. We publish more information than ever before and have increased transparency requirements and standards, including areas like ministerial declarations.".
According to the Cabinet Office, in 2024 there were 83,041 FOI requests received across all monitored bodies, an increase of 12,566 (+18%) from 2023 and the largest number of requests during a year since monitoring began in 2005, when there were 38,108 FOI requests in total.
