Consultation asks whether charges should be introduced
The cabinet office minister says the workload around Freedom of Information requests is increasing 'exponentially'.
It's as a consultation asks whether people should be charged for submitting them, or limits be put on the amount of requests individuals can make.
Government says it cost £181,000 and took up to 5,300 hours to respond to all 982 requests submitted.
David Ashford was asked if the workload would be less if the information was more accessible to begin with:
Meanwhile, almost half of overall requests were submitted by the same small group of individuals last year, government says.
You can listen to the full interview with Mr Ashford via Newscast below:
First calf on new cattle traceability scheme
PSC chair says 'misinformation' has turned culture of whistleblowing 'sour'
Hospital bed occupancy exceeds 90% in multiple years as pressure builds at Noble's
Residents call on others to register to vote ahead of elections