THE LORD Chancellor will mount a strong attack today on the “culture of secrecy” in Whitehall as he announces that up to 200 laws are to be repealed to let more information be released.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton will say that since the Freedom of Information Act was introduced on January 1, the Government has disclosed 10,000 pieces of information.

But he will admit that Whitehall needs to be quicker and “more open” about responding to requests and less protective of vested interests. It should also be more proactive in offering information rather than “sitting” on data and waiting to be asked, he will say at an FOI conference in London.

Lord Falconer’s comments follow general frustration by FOI campaigners that the Government has failed to follow the spirit of the Act by finding numerous excuses to keep information hidden.

In many cases Whitehall departments have taken much longer than the 20 days required under the Act, pleading that more time is needed to assess whether the data should be released.

Nearly 1,000 complaints have been referred to Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, where departments have refused to answer FOI requests, The Times has learnt. Although 200 have been processed, Mr Thomas has made decisions on only about ten of these so far, mostly siding with the complainant.

Mr Thomas is expected to echo Lord Falconer’s call for a culture change in Whitehall to encourage greater openness.

In addition to the 10,000 requests made to Whitehall, many more have been made to other public sector bodies such as local councils and hospitals.

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