FOIA extended to cover ACPO, UCAS and FOS

The Ministry of Justice announced on 1 November that an order has come into effect bringing the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) under the scope of the Freedom of Information Act. All three bodies perform functions of a public nature. Justice Minister Lord McNally said: 'I was pleased that during our consultation with ACPO, UCAS and the FOS, they were all open to the idea of being brought under the FoI umbrella.’ 'The government is currently consulting a range of other bodies including the Local Government Association, examination boards and harbour authorities on being brought within the scope of the Act, and I hope we will soon see an even greater number of organisations opening themselves up to the public in this way.' Speaking at Westminster Legal Policy Forum event on 20 October, Lord McNally said: ‘In addition, the Protection of Freedoms Bill will extend the Freedom of Information Act to all companies wholly owned by any number of public authorities. The current arrangement, under which a company is only subject to FOI if it is wholly owned by a single public authority but not two or more, is illogical. The correction of this anomaly will, we estimate, bring over 100 new bodies within the scope of the Act.’