THE Home Office is Whitehall’s most secretive department, refusing to answer more than two thirds of requests put to it under Freedom of Information laws.
The first league table on how government departments are performing shows that the Home Office answered just 30 per cent of requests within the 20-day deadline, well below the Whitehall average of 64 per cent.
The Department for Transport has emerged as the Freedom of Information champion, answering 83 per cent of requests in time. Alistair Darling’s department has also released more documents in full than any other. Another league table shows that 76 per cent of requests were granted in full, compared with a Whitehall average of 51 per cent.
The Department of Trade and Industry was least forthcoming, granting only 21 per cent of requests in full.
Freedom of Information came into effect on January 1 and the new league tables, compiled by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, cover the first three months of operation. In that time 7,723 requests were made with 4,911 granted, a hit rate of 64 per cent.