A recent study by a district council has found that business users make up more than 50% of requesters.  This local paper explained :

A study of a three-month period between March and May revealed Broadland received 191 requests, with each one taking an average of 56 minutes to complete – the maximum amount of time allowed without a charge is 18 hours. Broadland believes commercial sources submitted 63pc of the FOIs.

And Kim Davis-Claydon, cabinet member for operations and resources, told today’s cabinet meeting: “Nearly £15,000 is an awful lot of money in the current economic climate and there’s lots of better ways to spend it.

“The principle of the Freedom of Information Act is great, when used properly, but I really feel the commercial world is abusing the system.”

The study also found that private individuals and campaign groups both made up 8 % of all requesters and academics 2%. (see the full report here ). The use of FOI by businesses seems to be much heavier at local level than at central government level, as our report showed. Officials felt that businesses using FOI, particularly for commercial again, was against the ‘spirit’ of the Act.