Journalists seize on Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act, designed to give the public more access to information and insight into the workings of government, has seen a raft of queries in its first month.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, said that since the Act came into force on 1 January of this year, 4,000 requests for information were made by the public.

The National Archives topped the chart for requests, notching up 600 demands for information from the public, with the Ministry of Defence second, followed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Around 100,000 are obliged to answer to queries from the public, including local authorities, although sensitive areas are excluded from the Act - information on areas of national security, for example.

So far, queries have been answered on subjects ranging from restaurant hygiene inspections to loaned artwork and ministerial residences.

Half of the requests made under the Freedom of Information Act have come from journalists, according to the Department for Constitutional Affairs.