FOI Bill: compromise suggested

The saga with the FOI Bill continues. According to the BBC Freedom of Information Blog, David Maclean, the proposer of the Bill, has put suggested an amendment that deals with one of the main objections to the Bill - that it would result in MPs being under no obligation to disclose their expenses. If the suggestion was agreed, the House of Commons would have to publish details of MPs expenses each year.

As the BBC Blog points out, this is just a minor concession and would mean that the vast majority of parliamentary information would not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Given the damage that the Bill is doing to parliament's reputation, and the waking up to this fact by the House of Lords, it seems unlikely that the original Bill would pass through the Lords, and it seems unlikely that the Lords would accept such a small concession as Maclean is proposing.