Voters are not getting all the information they need to help them make an informed choice at
the General Election, according to a new pan-European survey by the independent Policy
Studies Institute.
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It is particularly difficult for voters to gain access to official information which would
enable them to judge the performance of governments and government bodies, according to
the research. Much more could be done to enable citizens to participate in the democratic
process. The consequences are serious say the authors. An ill-informed electorate is not able
to participate as much as it might or hold administrations fully to account.
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The new report, Information for Citizenship in Europe, edited by Jane
Steele, considers how easy it is to obtain basic information about the rights, entitlements and
responsibilities associated with citizenship in six European countries as well as the European
Commission. It finds that demand for information about rights and services already exceeds
supply in the UK and the rest of Europe and the need is predicted to grow dramatically over
the next five years.
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In the UK, Michael Rooney and Jane Steele praise the Citizen's Charter for helping
to extend access to information but conclude that it has put too much emphasis on consumer
information at the expense of other needs, for example information about rights or
entitlements. Limited spending, for example, on the Code of Practice on Access to
Government Information has meant that few citizens even know of its existence let alone
succeed in taking advantage of it.
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Among the report's findings:
- Demand for information is likely to increase dramatically in the next few years and far
outstrip supply. This is due to social, economic and political changes, including increasing
numbers of elderly people requiring public services and changes in the provision of public
welfare.
- The increased demand will have significant cost implications if information is still to be
provided free of charge. The government and voluntary sector are the biggest providers of
information in the UK but many charities are already overstretched, say the authors and the
government is unlikely to persuade the private sector to enter a field with few commercial
possibilities.
- Developments in new technology, such as videotext, kiosks and the internet, are creating
expectations of greater access to information. However, there is no evidence that new
technology will meet the needs of many groups of citizens, particularly those, like the poor,
sick and elderly, who are in greatest need of information.
- There is no consistent view in Europe over what constitutes a citizen s right to
information. The report praises Norway for developing an overall government policy with
specific goals. However, criticism is directed at Germany for a widespread lack of policy and
strategy in spite of constitutional rights to information. The concept of citizenship information
barely exists, say the authors, in Portugal, Ireland and Germany.
- The UK has adopted an ambivalent approach towards open government, giving citizens
the right to local government information but providing only a Code of Practice for central
government departments and some other agencies. Privatisation and the development of Next
Steps agencies in the UK have also made access to information more complex than in other
European countries.
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The authors of the report, who were drawn from several European states,
recommend that citizens should have the right to certain kinds of information. They argue that
all EC member states should provide information about civil, social and political rights,
entitlements and responsibilities; information to enable citizens to participate in democratic
processes and hold institutions to account; and information which is independent and free at
the point of use.
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Information is central to the relationship between an individual citizen and the state
said Jane Steele. There are rights which all citizens should enjoy and yet few governments
have policies in place which establish both rights and duties over the supply of important
information that affects our daily lives.
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