Isle of Man Freedom of Information law introduced next year

Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation is to be introduced on the Isle of Man eleven years after the UK, the Manx government has confirmed.

The transparency legislation is designed to give members of the public a right of access to information held by public authorities.

It will come into force on 1 February 2016 although, initially, it will only apply to two government departments.

Other departments and local authorities will follow over the next two years

To begin with, only the cabinet office and the department of the environment, food and agriculture will be subject to FOI requests.

Initially there will be no charge for requests but this policy will be reviewed periodically, said the government.

In the UK, FOI legislation has been used by investigative reporters on a string of other high profile stories, including MPs expenses and ambulance delays, over the past 10 years.

It is also a well-established tool for finding out more about the workings of central and local government and the rest of the public sector.

Manx FOI legislation is expected to be fully in force by February 2018.