Six months on from the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act, GAVIN AITCHISON assesses its impact in York and North Yorkshire.

FROM the Barbican to buses, from paramedics to parking charges, the first six months of the Freedom of Information Act have brought unprecedented access to a host of once-secret files.

Since the Act became law on January 1 this year, the press and the public have taken advantage of the new access laws to examine the previously confidential documents of public bodies across York and North Yorkshire.

Requests for information in York have ranged from an Evening Press request for council files on the sale and redevelopment of the Barbican, to a bid by bus enthusiast Terry Stapley, from Driffield, for the registration numbers and vehicle histories of each bus in York for his website.

But there has not yet been as unusual a request as the one received by Hampshire Police from a woman wanting details of all eligible bachelors in the force who lived in her area, including names, salaries and email addresses.

Requests to City of York Council are handled by information management officer Robert Beane who says it has been an "interesting" first six months, with 127 requests in the first six months.

He says inquiries have come from a variety of sources, and concern a wide range of issues.

"There are ones where people ask about things that just affect them, and also several about bigger-scale issues, such as the Barbican closure and Metcalfe Lane in Osbaldwick (the Derwenthorpe development)," he says.

Parish councillors at Osbaldwick, opposed to the Derwenthorpe scheme for a 540-home new village, were some of the first to take advantage of FOI, finding out a range of previously confidential information early this year.

Mr Beane says the introduction of the new laws is a good step for local democracy. He said: "I think it has been a positive development for open government. Openness and accountability are good things.

"We could regard this as a bureaucratic nuisance or we could welcome it as an opportunity to enhance the service we provide and the councillors and my colleagues do regard it like that."

York environmentalist and businessman Geoff Beacon used the Act to discover that the previous council administration investigated traffic measures including congestion charging and closing many streets and bridges to cars.

Mr Beacon said: "I think the FOI Act will make a radical difference to the way politicians behave. They will be less free to do things for political advantage, and they will be more concerned to do things for the good of the community."

Mr Stapley, who discovered details of the city's bus fleet, said: "It's a very useful act. Our bus club has sent off to various places throughout the country."

North Yorkshire Police have also received a large number of requests, with 132 in the first six months. Two staff deal with FOI requests, on top of their other duties, but police feel the cost of handling requests is a burden.

Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Read, of the complaints and professional standards department, said: "We welcome the transparency and accountability that FOI has brought and are happy to help members of the public understand the actions and policies of their police services. There has been an increase in workload, and we would certainly support the proposal that charging be introduced at a much earlier stage in the handling of requests."

FOI requests: What you need to know

THE Act covers more than 100,000 public bodies in Britain, including councils, schools, the emergency services and the Armed Forces.

Any member of the public can make a request for information, and the authority must reply within 20 working days.

Information is free, if the cost of retrieving it is less than £450. Above that figure, the individual must pay.

Requests must be in writing, by fax or by email. Requests can be sent to anyone at the public body, but should ideally be addressed to the Freedom of Information Officer.

A request can only be rejected if disclosure is against the public interest.

The authority must justify any refusals and give details of how to appeal against the decision.

Updated: 10:31 Monday, July 25, 2005