Toby Young Toby Young

Status Anxiety: The dark side of Freedom of Information

Toby Young suffers from Status Anxiety

issue 20 November 2010

As a journalist, I was an enthusiastic supporter of the Freedom of Information Act. It seemed like a powerful tool for holding our political masters to account.

However, now that I’m trying to set up a free school the boot is on the other foot. By common consent, the point at which the school becomes real is when the funding agreement is signed. This is the contract between the Secretary of State for Education and the charitable trust that owns and controls the school. Until earlier this year, such trusts were exempt from the scope of the FOI Act but that was changed by an amendment to the Academies Bill in the House of Lords. Academy trusts are now ‘FOI-able’ and that will apply to the trust that will own and control the West London Free School.

Not too alarming, you might think. But here’s the interesting part. According to my lawyer, the documents relating to the set-up of our trust, including the email correspondence between me and all the people I’m currently working with on this project, will be FOI-able.

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