The government says its plans to make more data publicly available will usher in a new era, dubbed "Freedom of Information 2.0" (August 4th)
Prisoners' sentences and GPs' prescribing habits will be among the information released.Launching a consultation on the plans, Cabinet Minister Francis Maude said the government should be "open by default".
The Freedom of Information Act, enacted in 2004, allows anyone to ask questions of a range of public bodies.In a letter to cabinet colleagues last month, Prime Minister David Cameron said transparency could be a "powerful tool to reform public services, foster innovation and empower citizens".
The consultation aims to come up with a list of roles and responsibilities for a new Public Data Corporation, responsible for handling transparency.
Issues include how public bodies can be held accountable if they fail to open up, how data can be most efficiently collected and presented to the public, and how far information should be made available to businesses to potentially profit from.
Source: BBC News
