Thank you very much for that introduction, and thank you very much for this invitation. I am genuinely delighted to be here this afternoon to talk about Freedom of Information, and this government's commitment to Freedom of Information.
On the 1st January 2005 the Freedom of Information Act comes fully into force.
For years political parties, when in opposition have talked about introducing a Freedom of Information law. And then, when the opportunity has come, no doubt persuaded by the pressures of office, they have found more pressing things to do.
We have not been deflected. We have introduced the law. And we recognise it marks a real change.
The Labour Government introduced and supported this important legislative change so that there would be a new culture of openness: a change in the way we are governed.
The more there is a culture of openness, the better decision-making will be.
If decisions have to be publicly explained, they will be better taken. Real informed accountability improves standards.
The role of the politicians, the public servants and the journalists will be affected by it. They will be the people who most need to know how it works. Theirs is the conduct we want to change.
But the change is not for them. The change is for the public. It is aimed at ensuring the conduct of government improves for everyone.
And it is change which will have a widespread effect on the delivery of public services.
The public have a right to know what, for example, the policy of a school is on its admissions, and how it works in practice.
How a hospital makes decisions about the treatments it offers, and the drugs it prescribes.
In short, they have a right to know how policy is made in all of these bodies, which affect so critically our daily lives.
In all of these areas greater openness will improve the quality of government. For me and for this Government, the test of the success of the FOI Act will be the extent to which it improves the quality of government.
When the FOI Bill was going through Parliament there were people who said it did not go far enough - that there were too many exemptions, and there was a ministerial override.
Any objective comparison with other countries' FOI regimes will find that our act compares very favourably.
The Act introduces, for the first time in this country, a presumption that public bodies should release information to the public, unless there is a very good reason for not doing so.
There is no real argument that exemptions protecting crucial information in areas such as defence, foreign affairs and national security constitute just such a good case.
And there is a widespread acceptance that a balance needs to be struck, in individual cases, between the need for confidentiality as a means of promoting good government, and openness as the best means of promoting that same objective.
The approach we have taken is one that promotes good government by ensuring the maximum degree of openness, whilst using the exemptions to protect collective responsibility and good decision making.
These are examples of making sure that our approach leads to good government. Sometimes that will require confidentiality.
But good government is open government. And good government is effective government too.
To achieve this, we need to remodel the way we are governed.
To make the state more responsive to citizens.
To make it credible in the eyes of 21st century citizens.
To provide clarity where there is confusion or outdated custom.
To show citizens how government works - and to show them how decisions are taken.
Our Act is a bold and determined response to generations of secrecy. A challenge to a culture that was deeply ingrained in all too many parts of the public sector.
And we cast our net widely: more than 100,000 public authorities are subject to the Act.
That scope is probably without precedent internationally.
If we can implement this legislation successfully right across the public sector - and I am confident that we can - then we will have secured a prize which many thought was unattainable. A change in culture. A real delivery of openness.
Where do we stand now in implementing the Act?
Implementation is already well under way.
Full access rights may not come into force until January, but significant parts of the Act are already in force.
The great majority of the public sector now have publication schemes in place.
Schemes which proactively release information to the public.
Schemes whose quality is independently tested by the Information Commissioner.
This is the shop window of open government. It shows clearly public authorities' commitment to greater openness.
Across government, we are seizing the initiative.
Going further than before in terms of information that is released.
Some examples.
The Department of Health now publishes information on local MRSA rates on its website. People have a right to know the hygiene level of their local hospital.
DFID plans to routinely publish the Memoranda of Understanding which form the basis of our relationships with partner governments in the developing world.
And my own Department has now published, for the first time, its evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body, which makes recommendations about the pay of the judiciary.
But a spirit of openness is not, in itself, sufficient. It needs to be bolstered by strong leadership. Support for those administering access requests. And a long-term commitment to making FOI work.
Where FOI regimes have worked and worked well around the world they have been associated with strong leadership and long -term commitment. I am determined that we in this country will replicate these successes.
So my Department is providing clear and emphatic leadership across Whitehall in relation to FOI.
I will provide the political leadership that is needed.
But it's not just about what we do as politicians. It's about ingraining FOI into the culture. So we have in place a team of officials whose job is to drive implementation forward and to support public authorities in preparing for January 2005.
We will not be passive in our role.
Where, for example, we see scope in raising the standard for Whitehall publication schemes, we will take it.
And we will listen to what the public wants.
The public has a right to know.
The public has a right to greater openness from public authorities.
And it's a right to know that should be accessible to all.
No individual should be priced out of the right to know.
So I am pleased to announce today, that for the vast majority of cases there will be no charge for information supplied under the Freedom of Information Act.
Freedom of Information really means free information.
The Government will lay fees regulations before Parliament in November. There will be no charge for information that costs public bodies less than £450 to produce. And for central government, the cost ceiling will be set at £600.
I can reaffirm our commitment to what's known as the new burden doctrine. For local government, we will reimburse councils for any additional costs, in 2005-06 and beyond, falling on them as a result of the FOI Act.
This is the right approach. And it confirms our commitment to making open government available to all.
FOI has, perhaps for too long, been the preserve of the investigative journalist or the constitutional enthusiast.
It is a policy that parties in opposition warmly espouse, and then fail to take forward in government.
This government has broken that pattern.
The FOI Act takes the decision on disclosure away from the executive - save in those handful of cases where the ministerial override is involved - and places it in the hands of independent officials or bodies, or the courts.
There is no turning back.
We have crossed the rubicon.
We did it because it would promote better government.
We are determined that the public should reap the benefits of this. Better government. Open government. Effective government.
In the months and years to come, no doubt, there will be great issues about whether particular documents should be disclosed.
As far as this government is concerned, the principle of promoting greater openness and using the exemptions only to promote good government are the touchstones we will use.
Thank you very much.