Several government departments have contracts with private companies to perform front line services. Certain companies such as Serco seem to exist only for this purpose. The Freedom of Information Act should be extended to include these companies, requiring them to respond to relevant requests.
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The Freedom of Information Act exists to improve accountability and transparency. The outsourcing of government services to private companies creates a blind-spot, where the public do not have full access to how our tax revenue is being used. It is reasonable therefore that companies providing services at the expense of the tax-payer should be subject to the same rules that other public bodies would be if they were providing the same services.