Public sector urged to publish data

11 Jun 2009

The UK population should be given access to all information held by public bodies which does not need to be kept secret or confidential, the country's data protection chief is to say.

Information Commissioner Richard Thomas thinks that the debacle over MPs' expenses has marked the "coming of age" of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.

In his final speech before standing down later this month, Mr Thomas will encourage public organisations to release most of the information without waiting for FoI requests, while keeping back the 'crown jewels' - data which genuinely should not be made public.

The Daily Telegraph's exposure of practices at Westminster, which has dominated the political agenda in recent weeks, was kicked off by a court ruling that said details of MPs' expenses must be disclosed under the Act.

According to an advance text released by his office, Mr Thomas will say: "The Freedom of Information Act has been seen as a somewhat fragile flower for most of its lifetime.

"It has now come of age and moved centre stage - a permanent fixture and a core part of the fabric of public life. The recent uproar over MPs' expenses has cemented FoI's reputation as a success story."