UK agencies withholding more info.

• Position: FOI - Freedom of Information - Brief article

The UK's new coalition government has promised more transparency, but a recent study found that, when it comes to requests under the four-year Freedom of Information (FOI) law, the trend is toward more secrecy.

For example, in the last three months of 2009, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) refused more than half of the requests it received, according to legal information provider Sweet & Maxwell. In fact, the study found that almost one in four FOI requests is rejected by government departments and public bodies.

Last year, 23% (6,706) of all requests to public bodies were denied in the fourth quarter. In 2005, the fourth-quarter rejection rate was 18% of requests, according to the Telegraph.

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The new coalition government has publicly expressed its plan to...