Government spends half a million fighting FOI disclosures

The UK government has spent over half a million pounds in legal fees to fight freedom of information disclosures in the past five years, according to an exclusive report by openDemocracy.

According to the report, six different government departments “spent heavily on legal challenges” in response to successful requests to release information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The department for health and social care spent the single largest sum out of any department, totalling costs of £278,500 since June 2016.

Duncan Hames, director of policy at Transparency International UK, commented on the findings, saying:

“The government should stop wasting time and taxpayer money opposing legitimate freedom of information requests and do what it’s required to by the law”.