An about-turn on the newly implemented Freedom of Information Act has been prompted by a series of embarrassing revelations about the inner workings of government. The cost of responding to requests has also proved so expensive for civil servants to administer that a charge for information is being seen as the only alternative.

The move could deter thousands of people who so far have used the Act in its first year to find out about local services, as well as to cast light on the size of subsidies paid to Britain’s wealthiest landowners and discover how ministers had blocked the civil marriage of Princess Margaret.

Bills running into hundreds of pounds could be sent to people with complicated multiple requests, even if the authority ultimately refuses to supply them with the information.

Whitehall is routinely failing to answer even the most basic requests under the Act. The Times has established that a quarter of government departments were unable to respond to questions devised using information already on their websites. Downing Street, the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office even denied that they had the data in question. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport refused to disclose the information, saying it could be found elsewhere.

The Act has had a serious impact throughout the Government, with ministers and Permanent Secretaries complaining about the amount of time they spend on decisions. About 36,000 requests for information have been made in the past year. Tony Blair was said to have been furious at the disclosure of guest lists showing who he entertained at Chequers.

Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, has been told that the Government is considering reviving plans to introduce fees for every request.

Shortly before the Act came into force, the Government dropped plans for charges of up to £60 for requests to central government and £45 for local bodies. This was against the will of senior Whitehall figures, who argued that the costs should be even higher.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the Lord Chancellor, is determined to halt the “wilder” requests. “Asking about the number of windows at the Department for Education and Skills, or the amount of money that departments spend on toilet paper, diverts energy from answering worthwhile requests,” he said.

A spokesman for the Department for Constitutional Affairs confirmed that a review of fees was under way but said that no decision had been taken. The DCA has ruled out amending the Act, but would be able to introduce fees without primary legislation.

Mr Frankel said such a move would undermine the entire Act and deter the public from using it. “The system is very sensitive to fees. When the Irish increased their fees considerably three years ago, their volume of requests fell to a quarter of what they were the previous year.”

Government departments and agencies received 7,500 requests under the Act from July to September, of which 67 per cent were granted in full.

The Treasury was the worst department at meeting deadlines, followed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Home Office was the fourth-worst-performing department.

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