ACE Backtracks On FOIA Refusal
The Latest News || Wednesday, 1 March, 2006
Arts Council England (ACE) has backtracked on a previous decision to deny Article19's Freedom of Information request for details of the 4Dance:Dance4Film television programme that aired on Channel 4 on December 29th.
Initially ACE rejected the request on the grounds it would cost more than £450 (@£25 per hour) to retrieve the information. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows certain organisations to refuse requests if they determine that processing the request will exceed that amount.
When Article19 requested a detailed breakdown of the costs it emerged that that the amount of time ACE estimated it would take to collate the information would be 19 hours and this would put the cost at £475. When Article19 stated we would pay the additional £25 as well as appealing their decision with the Information Commissioner they relented and agreed to provide the information at no cost to Article19.
The costing structure was widely criticised, when the act came into force, as a potential get out clause for organisations that may be either unwilling or unable to provide information requested under the act. Organisations covered by FOIA determine their own time structure for the retrieval of information. These refusals can be overturned on appeal however.
Article19 is seeking financial and communications information about the project created by ACE, Channel 4 and MJW Productions.
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