Government plans to exempt universities from freedom of information (FOI) requests have been condemned by Labour.

The government’s higher education green paper says educational institutions could be excluded from FOI legislation, which provides rules for the release of recorded information.

The paper argues this would create a level playing field with private providers, which are not subject to requests and are taking a greater role in higher education.

Labour says the proposal is part of a plan to stop the public from monitoring how the government spends public money.

Louise Haigh, shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: “On the government’s logic, we would have to exempt almost all public services from freedom of information given how far their privatisation programme has gone.

“Rather than removing accountability from public services, we have been clear that they should instead be considering how to extend it to all providers, including private companies, where they are paid from taxpayers’ money.”



The green paper, released last Friday, says: “The cost to providers of being within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act is estimated at around £10m per year.



“In principle, we want to see all higher education providers subject to the same requirements, and wherever possible we are seeking to reduce burdens and deregulate. However, we may wish to consider some exceptions to this general rule if it were in the interest of students and the wider public.”

Some vice-chancellors have argued that the justification for universities’ inclusion in the FOI legislation can be challenged as they become more reliant on private funds.

The government, which is considering more charges and greater limits on the scope of FOI, has faced criticism for launching several attacks on the act, which was introduced by Tony Blair’s government.

Last month, Chris Grayling was condemned by Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, for saying it was wrong that the Freedom of Information Act was being used as a “research tool” to “generate stories” for the media. Ministers established an independent commission on freedom of information to review the act in July.

The commission has been heavily criticised for being an establishment “stitch-up” to neuter the work of journalists, campaigners and members of the public.



The five-member commission includes Jack Straw, the former Labour foreign secretary who has called for the act to be rewritten, Alex Carlile, the peer who accused the Guardian of “a criminal act” when it published stories using NSA material leaked by Edward Snowden, Michael Howard, the former Tory leader whose gardening expenses were criticised after being exposed following FOI requests, and Patricia Hodgson, chair of Ofcom, which has criticised the act for its “chilling effect” on government.

Last month, the commission held its first official briefing and disclosed that it would consider introducing charges for FOI requests for the first time. Journalists were asked not to disclose who was there or attribute what they said, prompting widespread ridicule.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which drew up the

green paper, said: “Promoting the student interest is at the heart of our green paper and we are proposing a number of measures to provide students with more information. We are consulting on the proposals in the paper and will formally respond once the consultation closes.”