Government Spent over £1m on Court Cases to Keep Information Secret

Key Takeaways

• £1 million spent on FOI legal battles 2024‑25.
• Cabinet Office leads with £318k legal fees.
• Health department spent £208k, DWP £144k.
• FOI response rate fell to 29% in 2024.
• Transparency International calls spending “deeply damaging”.

Summary

A recent investigation reveals that UK government departments spent over £1 million on legal fees to contest Freedom of Information (FOI) requests in 2024‑25. The Cabinet Office topped the list with £318,000, while the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions incurred £208,000 and £144,000 respectively. High‑profile cases included a £41,000 fight over an infected‑blood inquiry and a £32,000 battle to withhold a blank document. Transparency International condemned the spending as a damaging blow to democratic accountability.

Pulse Analysis

Freedom of Information legislation was designed to empower citizens and journalists to scrutinise government actions, yet the latest data shows a stark contradiction. In the 2024‑25 financial year, Whitehall departments collectively allocated more than £1 million to legal teams defending against FOI disclosures. This spending surge reflects not only the growing complexity of information requests but also a strategic choice to use litigation as a barrier, diverting public funds that could otherwise support essential services.

The Cabinet Office emerged as the biggest spender, disbursing £318,000 across fifteen cases, including a costly challenge to a COVID‑19 VIP PPE investigation. The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions followed with £208,000 and £144,000 respectively, illustrating that the reluctance to release information spans health, welfare and security portfolios. High‑profile battles—such as the £41,000 defense of an infected‑blood inquiry and a £32,000 effort to conceal a blank sheet of paper—underscore how legal expenses can quickly outpace the value of the withheld data, raising questions about fiscal responsibility and democratic duty.

These figures arrive amid a broader decline in governmental openness, with FOI response rates dropping to a historic low of 29% in 2024. Advocacy groups like Transparency International argue that such practices undermine public confidence and hinder accountability. The pattern suggests an urgent need for policy reform, potentially tightening FOI exemptions while ensuring that litigation costs do not become a de‑facto tool for secrecy. As watchdogs continue to expose these expenditures, pressure mounts on legislators to safeguard the right to know and to re‑allocate resources toward genuine transparency rather than costly legal defenses.