The Henley Centre Freedom of Information · 2005. 6. 30. · demand, but there is evidence of unmet public demand for information from the government: "46% of the public say they

The Henley Centre

Freedom of InformationPrepared to meet the challenge?

Connecting people with information.

Foreword 3

Executive Summary 4

Introduction 6

01 The Context: The background on FoI

"Freedom of Information and the citizen 8

"Demand for Freedom of Information: trickle or torrent? 10

02 Public Authorities: How are they dealing with FoI?

"Willing or not? Public authority attitudes to the FoI Act 14

"Ready or not? Public authorities’ preparedness for the FoI Act 15

03 Effective Preparation

"A scenario framework for preparing effectively for the FoI Act 20

Conclusion and implications for government 23

"The BT view 24

1

Contents

The strategy of government is to give people as much time as possible to get ready. This provides a benefit for us in giving no-one an excuse for being late. I will be unwilling and unable to accept public bodies saying that they are not ready to deal with it.Richard ThomasInformation CommissionerMarch 2003

On 1 January 2005, the relationship between government and

the rest of society will undergo a fundamental change. On that

date, the Freedom of Information Act takes effect, imposing on

all public sector bodies a legal obligation to disclose details of

any information requested to anyone requesting it.

It would be hard to overstate the Act’s impact on public

authorities. They will need to be able to identify all information

relevant to a given request, access, review and edit it, charge

for it where applicable, deliver it, and document their actions

from start to finish – and all within 20 working days.

The Act lies at the very heart of what we understand by the

term ‘democracy’ – redefining the relationship between

government and the governed. If managed well, all parties

stand to benefit. But any failure, fudging or foot-dragging

could lead to a big loss of faith among the public – and an

equally huge loss of face for the authorities.

Which of these takes place depends largely on how well public

bodies understand their responsibilities and how well they

prepare to meet them. But this understanding is not easily

achieved. How do you forecast the level of requests? What do

you have to do to prepare to meet them? What is the impact

if you fail to prepare adequately?

BT commissioned The Henley Centre to provide an objective

view about all of these questions. This report is the result. It

offers an insight into the attitudes of public sector managers

towards the Act, and paints a picture of levels of preparedness.

It also presents information that can help public authorities

assess the likely level of requests, and the FoI Scenarios

Framework to help map all the significant factors into a

strategic planning view for FoI preparation.

It is an interesting picture. The research is solely based on

interviews with public authority managers who have some

responsibility for planning for the Act. A proportion of these

appear to be underway in their planning activities, and to

be positive about the Act and its opportunities. But despite

this, the results still expose some significant gaps in knowledge,

and flag up some worrying instances of ignorance about the

preparations that full compliance will require. In addition, the

role of information and communications technology (ICT)

seems poorly understood.

At BT we are proud of our long record of helping government

to deal with the challenges presented by new ways of working.

We believe that the Act can provide a stimulus and focus for

change to enable ‘agile government’, with public authorities

benefiting from more flexible, more efficient and more

effective working through better information management

within their organisations.

We hope that this report will prove thought-provoking and

interesting, but above all useful. We also hope that the planning

approach it proposes – the FoI Scenarios Framework – will help

public authorities not just prepare for the Act, but benefit fully

from the opportunities it certainly offers.

MIKE STONE

Director, BT Stepchange

3

Foreword

The Act is being introduced at an important time for the

delivery of public services in this country: the government is

committed to bringing about a transformational change and

public expectations are high. The public expects to see results

but has little confidence in the ability of government to deliver.

The Act will give members of the public unprecedented access

to the information they will need in order to decide for themselves

whether or not public authorities are delivering what they

promise. This presents an opportunity and a risk: the

opportunity is to demonstrate that public bodies are well run;

the risk is that the new transparency will simply demonstrate

that they are not.

The research carried out by The Henley Centre for BT was

designed to establish the extent to which public authorities are

ready to meet the challenges presented by the FoI Act. The

conclusion is that there are some serious shortcomings in the way

public authorities are preparing for the introduction of the Act:

1. Knowledge of the FoI Act is poor

Though nearly all organisations accept the importance of the

Act for government, many admit that they don’t know enough

about this legislation – only 54% claim to know a ‘great deal’

or ‘quite a lot’ about the Act. This does not seem to be a good

basis upon which to plan.

2. Public authorities are failing to assess likely public demand

Despite the crucial importance of understanding the factors

likely to drive the demand for information under the FoI Act,

and how they are likely to translate into the quantity and

complexity of requests for disclosure, little research has been

done by organisations. Over 50% admit they don’t know the

extent of public demand. Those who have a view appear to

believe that demand will be minimal in comparison to the

experience in some other countries.

3. Public authorities do not have a balanced resource strategy

Most of the organisations surveyed are adopting a strategy

of focusing on human resources, processes and procedures.

The requirement for ICT support has not, however, been

properly addressed. ICT can make a key contribution in support

of people and processes: it can make record keeping and

information processing more efficient, and will reduce the

burden placed on human resources in the long term.

Freedom of Information

Why is the FoI Act important?The FoI Act is a significant part of the drive towards greater

openness in government. Citizens want more information

about a wide range of issues that concern them.

If implemented correctly by public authorities, the Act offers

considerable opportunity for government to re-engage with

the public, and in so doing provide an important contribution

towards the world-class public services that the government

has promised.

The Act can also help improve the effectiveness of public

bodies by promoting improvements in information management.

The concept of ‘business agility’ – already recognised in the

private sector – can be applied to the public sector as ‘agile

government’. It means making organisations more flexible,

more dynamic and more efficient and effective. It also implies

being more sensitive to citizens’ needs and expectations, more

willing to listen to their views, and more willing to react quickly

to meet citizens’ changing demands and wishes.

An organisation that responds to the Act by putting in

place better processes to manage and disclose information,

underpinned by effective systems, is more likely to reap the

additional benefits of organisational effectiveness. But this

will involve cultural change, as expressed in one of our

executive interviews:

“The culture needs to change, civil servants are very secretive.

We need to change this.”

How will the public respond to the FoI Act?How enthusiastically will the public embrace their new rights

under the Act? What kind of information will they request; how

many requests is the Act likely to generate and what form will

they take?

It is difficult to translate public opinion into estimates of

demand, but there is evidence of unmet public demand for

information from the government:

" 46% of the public say they are in favour of more information

from public authorities.

4

Executive Summary

From 1 January 2005, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI Act) will givepeople important new rights of access to information held by public authorities.


"71% of people believe the government does not inform

them sufficiently of where their money is going and how

it is being used to fund services.

"Crucially, according to research carried out by The Future

Foundation for BT, 67% say they expect to make a query of

government under the FoI Act.

This could come as something of a shock to the managers of

public bodies that are not expecting high levels of interest in

Freedom of Information from citizens. During our research,

The Henley Centre encountered views typified by one large

government agency on the number of annual requests they

would receive:

“I say ‘only 150’, but if we had 150 we’d die… we’re talking

about lots and lots of man hours.”

As for the complexity of the requests, departments will need

to be ready to deal with everything from a simple request,

to the kind of ‘difficult’ queries that journalists and pressure

groups are likely to make in the pursuit of ‘truth’ around

controversial matters.

There are many possible explanations for potentially high

levels of public demand for information. One explanation

centres on the concept of the ‘Risk Society’. The public is

bombarded by the media’s attention on the growing risks

(real or otherwise) in everyday life: terrorism, failing pension

provision, GM foods, falling victim to medical negligence,

crime rates and so on. At the same time, the boundaries of

the state have been progressively rolled back. The rational

response is to seek personal empowerment, to feel better

able to manage the risks oneself. That demands more and

better information.

How prepared are public authorities for the FoIAct in 2005? Some are, but many are notIn our survey of 100 public bodies, 95% agreed that meeting the

requirements of the Act is ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’. Most

public authorities are aware of the additional benefits the Act

will bring to their organisation, such as cultural change, greater

accountability and better information management. In fact,

82% agree that the FoI Act is central to wider efforts for better

management of records and information in their organisation.

Judging from the findings of this research, The Henley Centre

believes that only some public authorities will be ready to meet

their obligations under the Act in 2005. Some 75% of the

organisations we surveyed claim to have a plan to implement

the requirements of the FoI Act. However, 62% admit to being

in the early stages of planning even though the deadline is only

18 months away.

In particular, the research suggests that public authorities

may well be underestimating the extent of the demand they

will receive from members of the public, the media, pressure

groups and others. The Henley Centre believes that this should

be a matter of concern to all public bodies. At a time when only

15% of the public trust the government and local authorities to

be honest and fair, the last thing public institutions need is

a further undermining of public trust and confidence.

The picture may, if anything, be rather less promising than the

research suggests. The participating public authorities were

selected on the basis that they had at least begun to plan for

the FoI Act, and those representing these organisations in the

research were, at least in part, responsible for ensuring their

organisation meets the requirements of the Act. The research

did not establish how many other bodies have, so far, made

little or no progress.

The state of readiness in government varies between sectors,

with local government and central government generally more

confident of progress made to date. Knowledge of the FoI Act

is relatively greater in these two sectors. Large proportions of

the other two sectors examined – health authorities, and

police, probation and legal services – are less confident of

progress made to date.

Caught in the storm and sinking fast?Public authorities need to adopt a more structured and

comprehensive approach to planning for FoI. This report

concludes by presenting a planning framework to facilitate

such an approach – the FoI Scenario Framework. Crucially,

the framework suggests that unless action is taken swiftly,

many organisations will be ‘caught between higher demand

for Freedom of Information from the public and a lack of

preparedness to satisfy these requests. In short, ‘caught in

the storm and sinking fast’ when the FoI Act becomes fully

operational in 2005.

5

The FoI Act could well become one of the most important issues

facing public authorities in the short to medium term. This

report has been commissioned by BT, with the aim of giving an

objective perspective on public authority attitudes towards,

and preparedness for, the FoI Act, the main provisions of which

are introduced on 1 January 2005. It also aims to help public

authorities understand better the factors and issues that need

to be considered in planning to meet the Act’s requirements.

The Henley Centre provides strategic consultancy services to

both the private and public sectors. We have a great deal of

experience in working with public authorities, and in helping

such organisations plan and prepare for the future. In the

last eighteen months, for instance, The Henley Centre has

undertaken consultancy projects for the BBC, the Cabinet

Office, the Ministry of Defence/Army, DEFRA, the DTI, the

RAF, the Inland Revenue, Lewisham Borough Council, One

North East (the N.E. development agency) and the Wales

Tourist Board.

Freedom of Information: Introduction

Research methodologyThe research has been based on a combination of elements.

a. Initial desk research has been combined with background

material from The Henley Centre’s knowledge base of trends

and developments affecting society and citizens.

b. In depth executive interviews have been conducted with

various UK government organisations, including the Lord

Chancellor’s Department, the Information Commissioner,

and several other local and central government authorities.

c. A quantitative survey of 100 public organisations has

been carried out to gather a broader picture of the impact

of the FoI Act. The sample includes a selection of local

government and education authorities (35), health

authorities (42), police, probation and legal services (10)

and central government organisations (13) within the UK.

The participating public authorities were selected on the

basis that they had taken at least initial steps to address

the challenges of the FoI Act. The individual respondents

representing these organisations were, at least in part,

responsible for ensuring that their organisation meets the

requirements of the Act. Therefore, the results of the research

are likely to overstate the general level of preparedness among

public authorities because those interviewed have begun to

plan for the FoI Act.

We did not interview agencies that had not started to address

the FoI Act since they would have been unable to answer the

questionnaire.

The quantitative survey and executive interviews were carried

out between February and March 2003.

6

Introduction

01The Context:

The background on FoI“The Risk Society begins wheretradition ends…the more risks, the more decisions and choices

we have to make. Society hasbecome a laboratory where there

is absolutely nobody in charge.Source: Ulrich Beck

”

Freedom of Information: The context

8

The ‘Risk Society’Today’s citizens are living in a world in which adequate access

to accurate and trusted information is a necessity. In a world of

‘information overload’, citizens struggle to decipher opinion

from fact, science from fiction.

Yet the changing global economy means that now, more than

ever, truthful information is crucial. Changes in policy and law,

rapid technological change, government initiatives to ‘roll

back the state’, the erosion of traditional social structures,

and growing consumer wealth mean that citizens face ever

increasing choices coupled with greater uncertainty.

“The Risk Society begins where tradition ends… the more

risks, the more decisions and choices we have to make.

Society has become a laboratory where there is absolutely

nobody in charge.”

Source: Ulrich Beck

In the ‘Risk Society’ the public is subjected to a diet of media

attention on the risks (real or otherwise) in everyday life:

from terrorism to failing pension provision; from the alleged

risks from GM foods to the risk of falling victim to medical

negligence. The rational response is to seek personal

empowerment, so that people are able to manage the risks

themselves. That requires ever more and better information.

New technology – particularly the Internet – has conditioned

public expectations about how much information should be

made available, and how it should be disseminated.

But does the public really care about Freedom of Information?The view that citizens are apathetic towards official matters is

common and many believe that come January 2005 the levels

of requests for information will be minimal. The lack of public

participation in government – as evidenced, for example, in

poor voter turn-out at elections – is used to support this.

There are, however, two factors that contradict this view:

Voter apathy towards party politics may be pronounced,

but there is significant interest with ‘single issue’ politics.

Examples of this range from anti-war and anti-capitalist

demonstrations or the fuel crisis on a national level, to local

matters such as road, airport and housing development or

the catchment areas for local schools. People remain very

engaged with politics that influence their own lives.

Secondly, the media and pressure groups are increasingly

recognised (rightly or wrongly) as the voice of the public.

There is a sense that ‘although I may not be able to engage

with politics and government, someone else will and they’ll

sort it out’. There is no doubt that the media and single-issue

pressure groups have become increasingly important, and

increasingly demanding, and they can be expected to make

extensive use of the Act.

Many would argue that democracy cannot function effectively in the 21st century without free access to information held by government. Certainly journalists, pressure groups and academics have claimed that it is a right denied to the British public for too long.

Freedom of Information and the citizen


The FoI Act: A challenge and opportunity for governmentCurrently, much of the public’s desire for information is being

met by unofficial sources such as pressure groups and the

media. Research has shown that the public perceives these

sources as more trustworthy than government institutions

(Fig 1).

At the same time, there is a greater questioning of the sources

of information by the media, pressure groups and the public.

There is evidence to suggest that people would be very

interested in, and motivated by, more of what they would

perceive to be truthful information from official sources, but

that these sources are currently failing to meet the expected

obligations of openness.

71% of people believe that the government does not inform

them sufficiently of where their money is going and how it is

being used to fund services

Source: BT Taxi Omnibus/The Henley Centre survey Jan 2002 - base 1000

84% of the UK population are strongly or slightly in favour of

more information from government

Source: The Henley Centre, Planning for Consumer Change 2003

This is an environment where only 17% of the public claims to

have a great deal of confidence in government and 22% in civil

servants (The Henley Centre figures). The former Information

Commissioner argued that greater openness and transparency

in government is the best way to tackle the current levels of

scepticism.

“If government is seeking to gain our confidence, it, more

than others, must be ready to put in place the resources

necessary to respond to our requests and to do so with a

generous spirit … Government must set an example to

others by demonstrating the importance of being open

and accountable.”

Source: Elizabeth France in The Guardian, The right to know, Saturday September 21, 2002

http://politics.guardian.co.UK/foi/story/0,9061,817005,00.html

So, the FoI Act offers the prospect of real benefits to

government, providing the opportunity to re-engage with

the public by meeting a need for more information. It can

demonstrate ‘open government’ and, in time, can help lead

to greater confidence in public institutions.

9

The current government 15%

Your local council 15%

Your MP 23%

Daily newspaper you read most often 30%

Magazines you read most often 33%

Pressure groups/charities you might support 35%

Your local newspaper 37%

TV news you watch most often 56%

% trusting the following ‘a great deal’/‘mostly’ to be honest and fair

Fig 1 Source: The Henley Centre, Planning for Consumer Change 2002 Wave 1

(Oct 2000 to Sept 2001)

By contrast, one of the UK interviewees in our research with

FoI Act responsibility for a major UK government department,

remarked on the demand he expected:

“I say ‘only 150’, but if we had a 150 we’d die… we’re talking

about lots and lots of man hours.”

Clearly the figures for the UK and the US are not directly

comparable, but if the UK experienced demand levels at half

that of the United States, then something like one million

requests to government would be made a year. This would

obviously vary from public authority to public authority, but

it makes 150 requests to a major government department

look somewhat optimistic.

The questions are: what might the level of demand be from

the media, pressure groups and citizens come 2005, and what

might the complexity of that demand be?

How much demand do public authorities expect?Large numbers of organisations are not sure what to expect

in terms of requests made under the FoI Act (see Figure 2).

Around 50% say they have no estimates of the number of

average monthly requests. Of the 44% of public authorities

that did have a view of demand, they expect to receive

a minimum of 72 and maximum of 360 requests a year.


In our executive interviews, some organisations

reported that they were estimating the level of demand for

information by looking at requests received under existing

legislation, such as the Code of Practice (CoP). This is despite

the fact that the CoP is different in many ways – not least in

that it imposes no statutory obligation on the authorities.

The FoI Act’s requirements are much more onerous and the

results of historical analysis, based on previous CoP experience,

could be deceptive.

The proportions of each government sector that do not know

what to expect in terms of demand are significant and variable,

with police authorities being most unsure (Fig 3).

Levels of demand: stated public interest in the FoI Act is very highOther research shows that, once people are aware of the Act,

the majority of citizens see it as an opportunity to gain new

information and many expect to use their new rights.

Although only 22% of a nationally representative survey of

consumers were aware that Freedom of Information legislation

was being enacted in 2005, when told of the act:

67% of the population agreed that they could see themselves

requesting information once the Act comes into effect

Source: BT/The Future Foundation, February 2003

10

Demand for Freedom of Information: trickle or torrent?

In the United States 2,235,201 requests for information were made to federalagencies in financial year 2002 under FoI legislation*. And this does not includeapplications to State authorities, which have their own legislation.

Health

67%

31%

2%

66%

33%

1%

52%

44%

4%

37%

62%

1%

Education Police Armed forces/Security

Fig 4 Source: BT/The Future Foundation, February 2003

Can you see yourself requesting information on the following in the future?

Yes No Don’t know

50%

Private individuals

Companies Journalists Employees Formeremployess

Interestgroups

9%

9%

28%

4%

53%

5%

4%

34%

4%

48%

10%

6%

32%

4%

49%

3%7%

35%

6%

47%

2%2%

39%

10%

52%

4%

4%

35%

5%

How many requests do you estimate you will receive from the following in an average month?

None 1 to 5 6 to 10 11+ Don’t know

Fig 2 Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI research, 2003


Which sectors will the public demand most information from?Interest in official information is likely to vary from sector

to sector, and even within sectors. The request levels from

the general public will be higher for those organisations that

citizens feel have a direct impact on people’s lives such as

health authorities, education and police authorities (see Fig 4).

We can expect public awareness of the Act to increase

as the implementation date approaches, and more

strongly afterwards.

“We decided early on that raising awareness of FoI rights among

the public should wait until we reach full implementation in

January 2005. Then we will have a major drive as we have done

in the past for data protection. We’ll be looking at local and

national coverage in the press, magazines and on TV and radio.”

Source: Office of the Information Commissioner, FoI executive interview, 2003

Where will demand come from?Experience from overseas, where Freedom of Information

legislation already exists (eg: Canada, United States, Australia,

Ireland) shows that demand can vary enormously, in terms of

both volume and the sorts of people and organisations that

submit requests.

Large volumes of requests are likely to come from journalists,

pressure groups and companies. For instance, in Ireland 19%

of requests in 2002 came from journalists*. Journalists can

be expected to ‘test the system’ by making complex or

difficult requests, and to submit the same request to more

than one single public authority to see whether there are

any newsworthy differences in the information returned.

This clearly places a premium on cross-departmental

co-ordination particularly where the subject matter is of

a sensitive or potentially controversial nature.

Other sources of requests can be predicted. Canadian

experience, for instance, shows that students use the

Canadian Freedom of Information Act to get access to

material for dissertations. Such requests can be complex

and demanding and cover multiple departments.

Organisations that are anticipating and preparing for low

public interest in the FoI Act may find themselves surprised

when, as public awareness grows, so too does the number

of requests for information.

Understanding the drivers of change: preparingfor the unexpectedLevels of demand are likely to be sensitive to short term

events and longer term trends. An unexpected event may

well increase the number of Freedom of Information requests

that an authority receives. For example, DEFRA may well

have received a large number of requests under the FoI Act

(had it been in place) as a result of the foot and mouth crisis.

11* David Banisar, FoI and access to government records around the world, http://www.freedominfo.org/survey.htm

44%

8%

11%

31%

6%

Local government/LEA’s

53%

15%

6%

21%

6%

Health Authorities

63%

25%

13%

Police AuthoritiesCentral Government

50%50%


Estimates of numbers of requests for information from general public in an average month

None 1 to 5 6 to 10 11+ Don’t know

Other drivers of change are likely to be related more to trends,

rather than events. Interest in official matters can vary for

a number of reasons. Specific factors increasing interest (other

than the ‘Risk Society’ theory, the media and pressure group

interests) include:

"The popularity, or otherwise, of the government of the

day (particularly in the run-up to a General Election).

"The economic situation, particularly where new fiscal

measures impact on individuals.

"Growing normality and acceptance of using the FoI Act

to gain access to information.

"Activities of Freedom of Information campaigners.

However, there are also factors which can contribute to

a decrease in interest in official matters, and which may

tend to reduce the number of requests under the FoI Act:

"Growing disengagement with the party political

system – people feel they have less influence and

this breeds apathy.

"The attitudes of public authorities towards FoI and their

response capability – if service is poor, or authorities

are needlessly obstructive, people may become

disillusioned with the FoI Act.

"‘Times are good’ – requests for information

may be fewer during periods of low political and

economic turmoil.

"Low public awareness of the FoI Act – if little is done

to promote public awareness of the Act.

Complexity of demand: another key dimensionThere are many ways in which responding to requests for

information could be more complicated than expected:

"Getting clear and specific initial instructions from

an applicant could be harder than anticipated.

"Gathering information could be challenging if the

request relates to data held in different departments

or on paper records, perhaps going back over a

number of years.


Certain sectors of society may request more complicated

information than others. For example, organisations could

receive multiple requests from just one student or researcher –

this is likely to create more complexity than the average, single

request. Alternatively a particularly persistent journalist or

member of a pressure group may ask ‘difficult’ questions over

and over again, in different ways, and to different authorities

or parts of authorities.

Dealing with additional complexities puts an extra strain

on the limited resources available to public authorities.

Each request will require more attention to detail and hence

demand more time.

Organisations will also need to deal with complaints resulting

from mishandled applications. This could have a very significant

impact on the resources required to deal with the FoI Act – a

high cost of failure.

Officials in government are aware that the public may have

unrealistic expectations:

“I think we’ll get an increase from the general public, but

a lot of them will have an unrealistic expectation of what

information we can give.”

“Other info seekers are students, who do it [for] their projects or

their thesis, and there have been parts of the organisation who

used to get very concerned at the amount of work they were

getting from students – which again was not as the Code of

Practice was originally intended.”

Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI executive interview, 2003

Overall, both the quantity and complexity of demand are hard

to predict, but it seems likely that both may be significant

under the FoI Act from 2005 onwards.

12

02

Public Authorities:How are they

dealing with FoI?“It’s one of the most

important pieces of legislation to have been passed recently

for public authorities because of the wide reaching impact.

Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI survey data and verbatim, 2003

”

Freedom of Information: Public authorities

14

95% of organisations agree that meeting the requirements

of the Act is ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’

“It’s one of the most important pieces of legislation to have

been passed recently for public authorities because of the wide

reaching impact.”

“It’s a bit of headache but has lots of concrete benefits.”

Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI survey data and verbatim, 2003.

Negativity towards the Act is scarce: out of the 100 surveys

conducted, only 13 negative comments were recorded when

respondents were asked for any further comments they had

about the Act. Negative comment was expressed for a number

of distinct reasons:

"Some believe the resources required for successful

implementation of the Act are not available.

"Some authorities perceive themselves to be open and

transparent already.

"Some believe there is a lack of legislative support

available to assist proper understanding of the FoI Act.

Are there other benefits to meeting therequirements of the FoI Act?Amongst those in government who are dealing with the

FoI Act, there is awareness that other major benefits will

accrue to those organisations that prepare completely for

its introduction.

82% agree that the FoI Act is ‘seen as part of our wider efforts

for better management of general records and information in

our organisation’

Much of the comment about the additional benefits was about

improving the working practices and cultures of government,

as these quotes from the executive interviews show:

“Lots and lots of beneficial knock ons.”

“Focuses people’s minds.”

“It’s about increasing trust.”

“FoI helps with all this – just another factor

of our wider efforts.”

Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI executive interviews, 2003

The last quote above raises an important point: most

authorities see the FoI Act as ‘just another factor’ in the

drive across government towards greater efficiency

and effectiveness.

The benefits of the FoI Act are, therefore, numerous and wide-

ranging: on a day-to-day basis authorities will benefit from

better organisation and improved information management

whilst, in the long run, cultural change within organisations

and better decision making – due to greater accountability –

will enhance openness of, and trust in, government.

Willing or not? Public authority attitudes to the FoI Act

The majority of organisations that The Henley Centre surveyed expressed positive attitudes towards the FoI Act. They recognise the importance of the Act for government.


It is worth re-stating at this point that we surveyed officials

who were responsible for the FoI Act within their public

authority, in order to get the best understanding of attitudes

and preparedness. It may be that attitudes amongst the other

public authorities not represented by this group (ie those who

have yet to appoint an official responsible for FoI) are different

and that preparations are less well advanced.

In the BT FoI Act white paper ‘A vision of Open Government’,

the opinion has been expressed by senior public sector figures

that there is not only a huge lack of awareness, but that

preparation is late and undeveloped. This is partly, at least,

because there are other pressing priorities.

With less than two years to go, questions must be raised

about the readiness of public authorities for the demands

of the FoI Act.

Exploring what it means to be prepared for the FoI ActAmong the public authorities we interviewed, confidence

remains high with 99% believing they will be ready to meet the

requirements of the FoI Act by January 2005. But ‘readiness’

can mean different things.

Public authorities may position themselves on a spectrum of

readiness ranging from ‘at its least’ implementation, where

they do the bare minimum to comply with the letter of the Act,

to ‘at its best’ implementation, where authorities are truly

open to the public (see Fig 5 on page 16).

Each point on the readiness spectrum involves very different

levels of commitment, planning and resources from each

public authority.

The change to existing working methods needed to achieve

‘at its best’ implementation can be extensive. It can require

a complete change of culture, together with new information

management processes, supporting ICT and staff training

(see Figure 6 on page 16).

Why might preparedness be overstated?There are a number of key reasons to suggest that the

high level of confidence of our respondents might not be

well-founded:

"Whilst 95% of organisations acknowledge the importance of

the FoI Act, only 54% claim to know ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a

lot’ about it.

"62% of public authorities admit to being in only the early

stages of planning, even though the deadline for the FoI

Act is only 18 months away.

Planning and implementation – what is and isn’tbeing addressed?Evaluating the importance attached to each of the main

components of ‘at its best’ – processes, procedures and

working practices, Human Resources and ICT –

implementation by public authorities reveals an interesting

picture as these comments show:

“The effort split is people 80% and IT 20 to 25%, establishing

the protocols is the easy bit. FoI is really people-driven stuff.”

“The problem is that most members of staff [will] only come

across these requests once in a blue moon, so [it will be] rare

for anyone to gain familiarity with it.”

Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI research executive interviews, 2003

15

Ready or not? Public authorities’ preparedness for the FoI Act

So will public authorities be fully prepared for the FoI Act in 2005? Clearly some will, but at this stage the evidence suggests that many will not.


16

At it least At its best

"Do the bare minimum to meet the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act

"Ability to search for relevant information, within and across departments

"Ability to deal with requests within the 20 day deadline

"Expertise to assess whether information gathered truly meetsthe requirements of the request

"Ability to justify and explain exemption clauses when applicable

"Ability to deal with complaints

"Ability to provide information in the best format for the applicant

"Ability to liaise and assist applicant with request

"Easily accessible FoI contact for the public

"Culture change within the organisation

"Understanding of the nature and quality of demand

"Total awareness of the FoI Act within the organisation and a degree of familiarity with it

"Correct protocols in place for the future to facilitate greater transparency

The Act – another piece of legislation FoI and open government

Two extremes

Fig 5 Source: The Henley Centre, 2003

Tools for ‘at its best’ implementation


People"Are of key importance, they are the main resource

bringing together all other elements.

"Timely and appropriate levels of training will be crucial.

Information management"Audits of all information held by authorities are needed, so that both the

public and employees are aware of what information is available.

"Effective publication schemes will reduce the burden of individual requests.

"Standardisation of working practices, such as document retention policies and information recording protocols, will need to be looked at. An appropriate balance between flexibility and a working structure will need to be reached.

ICT resources"This is a complementary resource; it will assist an organisation’s efforts

by reducing the burden on other resources. Having adequate ICT systems in place to deal with the storage and retrieval of information will aid the efforts of employees, making their task easier.

"Software to handle storage and retrieval of information could include document management systems and information request applications.

Changing cultures"Promotion of FoI awareness in organisations.

"Acceptance of ‘openness’ and of the formalisation of working practices.

"Greater willingness to work with other public bodies to share learning and achieve greater efficiency of implementation.

"Senior management should drive the process and accept responsibility.

Request for information structure"Processes to deal with requests will be needed so that all requests for

information are gathered and dealt with according to the FoI Act.

"Identify units/personnel, and key FoI contacts, within departments to assistcoordination of the organisation’s efforts.

"Review processes required to ensure that the measures taken are optimised.


17

Processes and procedures77% of public authorities believe that the introduction of new

processes and procedures is ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’

for successful implementation of the FoI Act

Source: The BT/The Henley Centre FoI research, 2003

Public authorities that are particularly confident about

progress made to date (ie those claiming to be ‘half way or

more’ into implementation of their plans) have focused on

the first element – introduction of new processes and

procedures to deal with the FoI Act (see Fig 7). This suggests

that the more preparation done, the more public authorities

become aware of the need to change processes and procedures.

Human ResourcesHuman resources is seen as an extremely problematic part

of the planning process. Issues include:

"Increasing awareness and familiarity with the Act.

"Promoting cultural change throughout the organisation

to increase openness.

"Training on, and policing of, new processes and procedures

for effective data management.

ICT ICT will undoubtedly play a critical role. The IT software

effort is concentrated on document management systems

(DMS). 52% of all public authorities confirmed that they

were considering DMS as part of their planning for the FoI Act.

Around one in four are considering extra data storage systems,

information request programs, and extra computing networks.

In the executive interviews we found that the synergistic

effects between ICT and other resources have been recognised

by some within government, but not by all.

“You have to have good effective records management to make

the FoI work…if you can’t find the piece of info, or you don’t

know whether you have it or not, then you are really going to

struggle to meet the legal requirements…you are going to

have to put a disproportionate amount of human resource into

rushing around trying to find it…”

“… I know some are bringing them together because

there’s a synergy between RM [Records Management], IT,

DP [Data Protection], and FoI. We’ve got three of the [factors]

but we haven’t got the IT aspect.”

Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI executive interviews, 2003.

The ICT requirements of the FoI Act are causing the greatest

uncertainty. A large number of authorities are not sure what to

do about technology, and some see this aspect as the most

significant barrier to successful implementation of the FoI Act

for their organisation.

In our research, much mention was made of records

management. Although not exactly the same thing,

records management today is inextricably linked to ICT

and information management considerations.

What do you see as the major barriers to successful

implementation of the FoI Act?

“Scale of implementing the records management systems…

management of records need to be carried out to very exacting

standards.”

“Trying to get a records management system that can cope with

the requests for information.”

“There is only one and that is an accurate database for all

documents open for public inspection… As long as we have an

accurate database it should be straight forward…”

“It is vital to have good records management in place.”

Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI research verbatim, 2003

Yes, we are doing it now

31%

56% 56%

36%

5%8%

No, we intend to in the future No, we do not intend to


Will you be introducing new processes and procedures to deal with FoI Act requests?

Early stages* Half way or more*

*In implementation of their planning for the FoI Act

Are some sectors more prepared than others?

The FoI Act requires different public authorities to start

preparing for it at different times. This probably contributes

to the divergence in the state of readiness amongst different

authorities. The Act is being introduced in two stages. In the

first one, organisations have to release a publication scheme

that specifies classes of information that authorities publish, or

intend to publish. The publication schemes for relevant central

government authorities were brought into effect in November

2002 and in February 2003 for local government. The deadline

for Police authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service, the

Serious Fraud Office and the Armed Forces is June 2003. The

health service needs to comply by October 2003. Schools and

universities have until February 2004.The second stage of the

FoI Act requires authorities to deal with individual applications

for information over and above that contained in publication

schemes. This obligation comes into force on 1 January 2005.

Various states of readinessOn average, central and local government authorities feel

more confident about their readiness than the health, police

and probation services with:

"60% of central government and 47% of local

government/LEA respondents claiming to be more

than half way through the implementation of their FoI Act

planning, compared to the average of 38%.

"Despite this last statistic, 89% of health authorities

and 5 out of 10 police forces still believe that they will be

ready for the Act in January 2005.

Whilst there is general agreement on the importance of

procedures, processess and HR, the divide on new technology

solutions is more significant. According to the spokesmen

interviewed, the majority of institutions in local and central

government are, or will be, introducing new ICT systems (69%

and 54% respectively). Conversely, for health authorities, and

police, probation and legal services, the majority of authorities

either will not be considering new ICT systems, or are unsure

what they intend to do about them.

Knowledge about the FoI Act across the sectors is patchy.

Although all sectors of government acknowledge the

importance of this Act, much lower proportions claim to

know a ‘great deal’ or a ‘fair amount’ about it. Significant

numbers believe the FoI Act is very important but have not

taken steps to fully understand it.


18

% of sectors claiming to know a ‘great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’about the FoI Act

Local government/LEAs

69%Central government

71%

Health authorities 31%

Police, probationand legal services

4/10

% of sectorsbelieving the FoI Act is ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important

92%

98%

94%

9/10


19

03

Effective Preparation“If you don’t have everything

in the right place…by 2005 things will just fall down.

Source: BT/The Henley Centre FoI survey data and verbatim, 2003

”


20

Low level of supplyLow level of request

High preparation

Low preparation

High level of supplyHigh level of request


Outcomes of the FoI Act can be examined on a two by two grid with four scenarios

Optimal position

Primarily, this will depend on the extent and complexity

of demand from all groups. The danger is that unprepared

authorities will ‘sink’ under the weight of heavy demand.

As one of the executive interviewees commented:

“If you don’t have everything in the right place… by 2005 things

will just fall down.”

Another consequence of lack of preparation is that public

authorities will not benefit from the related organisational

benefits that come from the better working practices required

to meet the requirements of the FoI Act.

The FoI Scenario FrameworkThere are four basic scenarios describing the situations public

authorities may find themselves in after January 2005, given

our current understanding of demand and preparedness (Fig 8).

The ability of organisations to provide information in

January 2005 will be determined by their state of readiness.

Ability to supply information is directly linked to the state of

preparation. For simplicity, we have assumed that the quantity

of requests does not, in itself, vary directly with the state of

preparation of public authorities.

Different request levels for information under the FoI Act

would necessitate different levels of readiness. In the top right

quadrant of the FoI Scenario Framework, high demand for

information is met by extensive preparation and high supply.

In the bottom left quadrant, suitably low levels of preparation

and supply meet low levels of requests. In these quadrants,

any deviation from the optimum, ie over or under supply of

information, will be minimal. Divergence from the optimum

state of preparation will be greatest in the top left, or bottom

right, quadrant.

Each quadrant represents a different set of future

circumstances that public authorities could find themselves

confronting. These different outcomes present four different

scenarios of the future.

The four scenarios: exploring the implicationsof varying preparedness and demandThe scenario framework allows us to easily examine four

future situations for public authorities dealing with the FoI Act.

Organisations can take steps to either avoid or deal with the

outcomes they confront.

The framework suggests that the optimum positions for

public authorities lie in either the top right or the bottom

left quadrant, depending on the anticipated level of public

interest (Fig 9). In these quadrants the cost of under or over

preparation are minimised. This, however, assumes that

meeting demand is the only consideration of the FoI Act.

The evidence suggests that this may not be the case – the

majority of public authorities recognise the importance of

the FoI Act to their organisations in terms of improved

working practices, and the resultant improved efficiency and

effectiveness.This dimension enhances the attractiveness

of the top and bottom right hand quadrants.

A scenario framework for preparing effectively for the FoI Act

What are the consequences for public authorities being insufficiently prepared for the FoI Act in 2005?

Caught inthe storm and

sinking fast

Treadingwater but far

from shore

Plain sailingthroughstormy seas

Ship shapeon a sea oftranquility


High preparation

Low preparation




21

Scenario 1: plain sailing through stormy seas

In this scenario, public authorities receive high levels of

complex requests under the FoI Act, but their investment

in preparation means they satisfy demand well, and

public opinion of the authority is raised.

Other characteristics of this scenario:

"Efficient information management processes, supported

by appropriate ICT and HR structures.

"Associated benefits in terms of organisational efficiency.

"Likely high levels of public ‘customer satisfaction’.

"High cost of preparation up to 2005.

Scenario 2: ship shape on a sea of tranquillity

In this scenario, the effort and cost public authorities have

invested in the FoI Act is not matched by a high level of

requests from the public. However, the organisation receives

the benefits in terms of information management efficiency

and organisational efficiency and effectiveness, and knows

it can meet any increases in demand in the future.


"Efficient information management processes, supported

by appropriate ICT and HR structures.

"Associated benefits in terms of organisational efficiency

and effectiveness.

"Well prepared to deal with fluctuations in requests

for Freedom of Information.

"Unlikely to attract negative press coverage as a result

of ‘spikes’ in requests for information.

"High cost of preparation up to 2005.

Scenario 3: treading water but far from shore

FoI Act? What FoI Act? Both public authority and

the public show little interest in the FoI Act. The lack of

preparedness of the authority is not visible because the public

makes relatively few requests. However, this risky strategy

means overall information management for the organisation

shows no improvement, and any growth in demand from the

public (perhaps due to unforeseen events), would mean

that the authority’s credibility was threatened.


"Low cost of preparation to 2005.

"High risk of negative press coverage and complaints

if requests increase.

"Organisation has to look to other drivers to

improve its efficiency.

Scenario 4: caught in the storm and sinking fast

The ‘nightmare scenario’, in which a public authority’s lack

of preparedness for the FoI Act is exposed by a public that

makes a high number of complex requests. The resultant

malaise creates bad publicity for the public authority.


"Low initial costs of preparation are far outweighed

by difficulties post January 2005.

"Associated benefits of improved information management

across the authority unlikely to accrue due to the need to

‘crisis-manage’ requests for information.

"Low levels of public ‘customer satisfaction’ and high levels

of complaints leading to bad press coverage.

Mapping government:

Where do organisations sit on the scenario framework map?

The FoI Scenario Framework allows us to gain an

understanding of where different types of public authorities

will be in January 2005 (see page 22 Fig 10).

If we take the results of our survey at a simplistic level, we

would conclude that most organisations would be in the

scenario ‘ship shape on a sea of tranquillity’ because:

a. Most public authorities are currently very confident of their

ability to deliver on the requirements of the FoI Act in

January 2005 (although health authorities, and police,

probation and legal services appear less confident about

progress to date than local and central government).

Freedom of Information: Effective preparation

22

b. Public authorities with a view about demand are generally

anticipating low request volumes: approximately one to five

a month. The expectation of low demand places authorities

towards the bottom of the grid.

But an alternative consideration of the survey results, using

the evidence from the demand and preparedness data,

suggests that public authorities across government may

face very different circumstances from those they anticipate.

"Although no one can be sure, demand may be

underestimated due to a lack of forecasting or analytical

prediction. This may be more true for health authorities,

and police, probation and legal services (organisations

that are of personal interest to the public) than for local

and central government.

"Preparedness, according to our executive interviews,

is likely to be overstated.

Taking control:what public authorities need to do In planning for the Act, the FoI Scenario Framework is a useful

tool to explore the following issues:

"The impact of different levels of demand.

"The consequences of alternative preparedness.

"Fluctuations in request levels.

"Risks associated with the FoI Act.

Given the external factors at play it is important to understand

the things that organisations can do to drive their own futures

and, therefore, to determine their position on the framework.

Authorities can manipulate likely outcomes by altering the

level of preparation they aim for, ie by moving along the

horizontal axis (and effectively along the spectrum of readiness

shown at Fig 5 on page 16).

A publication scheme is important as it has a two-fold effect on

a public authority. Firstly, a good publication scheme will make

an authority more prepared. The authority will have greater

awareness of the information it holds and where to find it.

Secondly, a good publication scheme will be an effective

source of reference for people looking for information, and in

many cases may negate the need for an actual request.

This could reduce demand, lowering the ‘request level’ in

the framework, although it could be argued that it, in theory, it

might actually increase demand by providing general material

which stimulates interest in further requests for more detailed

information. Overall, however, the likely effect of a good

publication scheme is to move the organisation towards the

‘ship shape on a sea of tranquillity’ scenario.

An authority’s position can be determined by comparing the

steps it takes to deal with the FoI Act against the ‘at its best’

implementation list of tools (see Fig 6 on page 16).

Organisations can, therefore, identify tasks they still need to

complete to move further right, ie towards the scenarios where

demand is satisfied and organisations themselves benefit from

the high level of preparation.

Caught in the storm and sinking fast

Treading water but far from shore

Plain sailingthrough

stormy seas

Ship shapeon a sea oftranquility


High preparation

Low preparation



Evidence suggests that organisations may actually find themselves closer to ‘caught in the storm and sinking fast’

Central governmentLocal governmentPoliceHealth


23

With only 18 months to go before the FoI Act is implemented

in January 2005, there is time for public authorities to become

prepared for this legislation.

The FoI Act will be important for both government and UK

citizens. For citizens, the FoI Act offers access to new sources

of information, something that people will value in their day-

to-day lives. With 67% of the public admitting they could see

themselves making a request under the Act, public authorities

would be unwise to underestimate demand.

For government, it comes at a time when there is increasing

pressure for public authorities to deliver on the promises of

politicians. The FoI Act offers authorities the opportunity

to connect with the public, and to enhance credibility and

transparency. Authorities will benefit from the additional

positive effects, such as better information management

leading to improved organisational efficiencies and

effectiveness, and this will, in turn, enable better

public services.

Some organisations have made some progress towards

compliance with the Act. However, significant numbers

of public authorities may be less prepared than they think.

The majority have not taken adequate steps to understand

the nature and extent of interest in information from the

public, journalists, campaigners, pressure groups or

companies. Many just simply do not know what to expect

in January 2005. Such bodies could find themselves facing

harsh consequences if they are unable to service the level of

interest in official information that eventually materialises.

On the supply side, some key aspects of preparation are being

overlooked. ICT, for example, if used effectively could lessen

the burden on other resources and make information

management more effective. But this issue seems to cause

the largest degree of uncertainty for public authorities.

Large proportions admit to not knowing what they plan to

do about ICT.

Preparation for the FoI Act could be made easier by structuring

the planning process from the outset. The FoI Scenario

Framework is a tool with which planning can be structured.

Its application varies from the basic construction of four static

scenarios, with which authorities can foresee the consequences

of actions taken and factors neglected, to the more complex

dynamics of changes in demand and supply. Perhaps most

usefully, the FoI Scenario Framework sheds light on the probable

situations facing organisations in January 2005, and identifies

the steps needed to avoid or achieve certain outcomes. In short,

it can identify what organisations need to do to take control.

Conclusion and implications for government

The BT View

24

The drive for more open government, underpinned by the

FoI Act, is both a challenge and an opportunity for the public

sector. The challenge is twofold: one, to meet the requirements

of the Act with no additional resources; and two, to develop a

change of mindset to share information openly.

BT believes a process of change is required to meet this

challenge, and one which tackles the issues in a holistic and

systematic manner. It is an opportunity to change the ways

things are done and make government more agile by unlocking

the power of information.

Evidence from Canada and the USA suggests that the ‘all-up’

cost can be between $2,000 and $6,000 to process a single

request for information. This unit cost does not vary with

volume. Approached in the right way, it is possible for public

sector organisations to meet the requirements of the Act

within their current budgets. But action is needed now.

Our own experience tells us that with the right information

management strategy – encompassing people, process and

technology – significant operational savings can made when

dealing with time-bound, information-intensive enquiries. Our

recent improvement in business performance has come from

cost reduction, paradoxically allied with better service, in

diverse areas such as customer contact centres, HR and desktop

computing services. Painful lessons were learnt along the way.

Having researched and committed ourselves to the Freedom of

Information arena, we are leveraging our market-leading

expertise in information management. We can offer a number

of services, from fully managed, wrap-around FoI solutions, via

case management tools (being developed for our UK customers),

through to training. These services are backed by our proven

track record in the delivery of information management

strategies for ourselves, as well as for our customers.

So talk to us about how our FoI Healthcheck can help you

determine the people, process and technology strategy

necessary to meet both the challenges and opportunities

afforded by this Act.

Offices worldwide

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