Freedom of Information (FOI) requests have become a vital tool in helping to hold public bodies to account. But reporter James Campbell believes we all have a responsibility to use the system properly.
Legislation allowing FOI requests has now been in place for a decade in the Isle of Man and more than two decades in the UK. FOIs enhance transparency and accountability among bodies spending taxpayers’ money.
They strengthen our ability to access information from government and local authorities which might not otherwise be readily available in the public domain.
However, take a look at the list of FOI requests published on the government website and some appear dubious.
I’m not talking about the way they are written - some are more articulate than others - but about their frivolous nature and the real motivation behind them.
I am talking about those FOIs where the person making the request simply wants to make a point and has little real interest in the answer.
One recent request asked: ‘Why is the post box still wrapped in Pride rainbow wrapping in the Sea Terminal? Across government the Pride [flag] is not supposed to be in public areas all year round.
‘Is it Post Office policy to conceal where to post a letter by disguising the normal red post box?’
The wording and tone of the question are troubling enough. I might be wrong, but there seems to be a thinly veiled homophobic element to way the question is phrased.
But there is a wider issue here about how FOI is being used.
The author does not appear to be genuinely seeking information on this subject.
Instead, the system is being used to criticise and score points against the Post Office for continuing to display support for Pride.
To be fair to the Isle of Man Post Office, it has gritted its teeth and responded to the request.
It said: ‘The post box in the Sea Terminal remains wrapped in a Pride design that was originally applied as a show of support for the Island's first Pride event. The post box continues to be used as part of the Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) network.
‘IOMPO does not have a policy of concealing or disguising post boxes. A small number of post boxes across the Island feature non-standard designs or themes.
‘These post boxes remain clearly identifiable as postal assets, display the same operational information as standard post boxes, and continue to perform the same postal function.’
Suggesting there is any deliberate attempt to disguise a post box is nonsensical and insulting.
But beyond that, investigating and responding to an FOI request costs money - taxpayers’ money.
Castletown Commissioners’ chairman Tony Brown recently said charges should be introduced because of the sheer number of requests being submitted. He has also called for the anonymity element to be removed.
The vast majority of requests are interesting and valid, providing an avenue to obtain important information that might otherwise not be openly available.
But, frankly, some people are abusing the system, and we are in danger of either losing it or having to pay to use it. That could result in people on low incomes with important questions to ask being frozen out of the process.