The Freedom of Information Act is an extremely rare thing - it's a law that does exactly what it says on the tin.

For the past two years UK citizens - including those who work in the media - have been able to obtain all kinds of facts, figures and interesting details about public life that have previously been kept under wraps.

Under the Act, newspapers have unearthed information as diverse as what took place at the BBC board of governors meeting when Greg Dyke resigned, to how much is, or isn't, being spent on sports equipment in schools.

News organisations have been able to procure details of security lapses at Broadmoor Special Hospital, and how much the National Gallery paid artist Sam Taylor-Wood for a video of David Beckham having a snooze. (£52,000, since you ask).

Now the FOI is under attack - from the very people who campaigned for it to be allowed and who saw it through parliament.

The government is proposing to water down the act by changing the way public authorities can calculate the fees they are allowed to charge requestors, which could substantially cut the number of requests that can be made. Leading the campaign against these curbs is the Press Gazette, the respected trade journal of the media industry, which has collected more than 1,000 signatures from media professionals opposed to the FOI changes.

The campaign is also being supported by Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information.

He told the Press Gazette that the act may be "more a candle than a spotlight" but it has begun to "illuminate areas that ministers prefer to keep dark".

"Now the government is striking back. It is no longer content to allow requests to be refused if the cost of searching for the information would exceed £450 or, in the case of government departments, £600m," he said.

"Ministers want to allow the cost of consulting about the request and considering whether to release the information to also be counted.

"Simple requests would be unaffected, but if the issue was complex, contentious or just unfamiliar, the cost barrier would loom.

"Once the limit was reached, a request could be refused out of hand, regardless of its merits.

"Perversely, a public interest case for disclosure would only increase the chances of a refusal - the hours needed to consider any public interest arguments would count against it."

The Daily Echo has made use of the act to discover a wealth of information, including the reservations expressed by a construction expert about construction matters at the stricken Castlepoint car park and the fact that IMAX operator Sheridan is legally obliged to keep the venue open for 10 years.

Only last week, following a FOI request, the Daily Echo was able to reveal that John McBride, chief executive of the Borough of Poole, had written to Asda over fears that sub-standard concrete had been used in its new shop and homes development, with his main concern being the shoppers' car park.

In the past month Daily Echo journalists have submitted requests to the local prison service, hospital trusts and education authorities to provide information for investigations they are working on.

But you don't have to be a journalist to either get involved and make a request or to be worried about the effect the proposed changes could have on your right to know.

The FOI Act is there for all citizens to use, from the BBC, to the parent who wants to find out more about what's going on in their child's school.


Factfile
DAILY Echo editor Neal Butterworth (pictured right) is one of more than 100 of Britain's newspaper editors to sign the Press Gazette's petition condemning the government's proposals. The names of more than 1,200 journalists have also been added to the petition.

Neal said: "It's clear that the government expected to be able to bring in these changes without too much fuss, but the strength of the response from the media has certainly had an impact.

"It now remains to be seen how the government reacts to this condemnation."

The government's consultation deadline - the time in which you can protest against any changes, ends on March 8. You can write to Department for Constitutional Affairs, Information Rights Division, 616 Selbourne House, 54-60 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QW. Email informationrights@dca.gsi.gov.uk

  • Have you had any successes under the FOI Act? Would you like to share your story with us? Call 01202 296502 or email newsdesk@bournemouthecho.co.uk