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Data Protection and Freedom of Information

The commissioner has made no request for further powers. He has the tools to do the job as well as significant enforcement powers. Funding arrangements for data protection are different—it is self-funded from fees, and we propose to change from the £35 flat-rate fee to a tiered fee, which takes account of the size of the data holders. My original proposal nine years ago was that a significant part of the Information Commissioner's funding should come from a modest fee for each information request. That was not followed through in 2001-02 and, when the Government suggested it more recently, it was met with a loud raspberry.