Whitehall looks set to defy the constitutional affairs select committee by changing the fees for applications under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA) - a move that could affect public-sector lawyers as well as lawyers making applications.


The government has issued a consultation paper on draft FoIA application costs to include reading, consideration and consultation time, to counter a small number of allegedly disproportionate requests.



However, the constitutional affairs committee's report on FoIA implementation, published in November 2006, had earlier insisted that problem requests were not 'an appropriate reason for reviewing the fees regulations'.



Dr Chris Pounder, FoIA specialist at national law firm Pinsent Masons, said public-sector lawyers could be used to bump up costs over the threshold that allows an authority to refuse an application.



'There is a danger that complex requests involving the possible application of exemptions could be routinely sent to in-house lawyers for a public authority,' he said. 'The purpose could be to seek authoritative advice but it could also tip the cost of handling a request over the limit. If this happens, the request could be refused on cost grounds without considering the public interest.'



Rupert White