Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill

Let me finish the point. All of us on both sides of the House agree that one of the best appointments to a public body that the Government have made has been that of Mr. Richard Thomas as Information Commissioner. He has gained plaudits from everybody. He has integrity, he is tough and he is extremely knowledgeable, yet his office has received none of the complaints or queries that the right hon. Gentleman claims his Bill will address. That seems strange. If there is an outrage such that the right hon. Gentleman wants to tackle it through the Bill, one would have thought that one problem might have been brought to the attention of the Information Commissioner. The right hon. Gentleman says that the House of Commons Library cannot be all-knowing, but most Members’ experience of the Library is that most of its staff are brilliant—very much cleverer and more qualified than we are—and give this House superb service. They have stated categorically that they are aware of no problems of the sort that he has identified—no such problem has been brought to their attention. The Bill seems to be addressing a problem that does not exist, except in the eyes and mind of the right hon. Gentleman and the few Members who have spoken to him privately and anecdotally, saying, ““We’re very worried. I have a particularly nasty constituency case here.”” I am sure that they have and that such cases exist, but that is because the Freedom of Information Act is new legislation—only two and a half years old—and the people in local authorities and other public bodies who are applying it have not yet learned how it works. Of course mistakes are made, but when that happens the answer is not to change the law completely and so radically.