Programme two
Since 1766, Sweden has had Freedom of information enshrined in law. All information held by government can be requested and viewed by any Swedish citizen.
Elsewhere in the world it has taken a little longer to achieve such levels of transparency. Even though Freedom of Information exists now in the UK, it can be anything but straightforward to get hold of the information you are after.
Laura Trevelyan meets someone who tried to use the FOI laws to find out what British Members of Parliament make financial claims for. The request was at first rejected. Only after an appeals process and later a decision made in the High Court was the information released - and then only a little at a time.
But what does having such information actually acheive? And is FOI sometimes more symbolic than practical in impact? And does it really help to tackle corruption and scandals in government?
