Outsourcing companies are taxpayer funded but are only rarely submitted to the scrutiny of Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act was introduced in 2000 has made certain Government information available to those members of the public who ask for it. Due to the increased drive towards outsourcing government services to private companies, there is a concern that huge swathes of Government work are now beyond the reach of FOI. While there are ways to obtain some information from outsourcing companies, it is dependent on the way contracts are drawn up and the good will of the company an the other end, explains Bilal Ghafoor.