Your 'secret' files to be opened by 2005

Access to information from government databases will be delayed until January 2005 to give Whitehall, local councils, hospitals and schools time to implement the new legislation.

The Freedom of Information Act gives citizens the right to access information held about them on government files, but officials have been unsure how to phase in the changes.

Many departments are worried about how they can extract relevant data from a series of computer and paper files.

According to The Guardian cabinet secretary Sir Richard Wilson advised the Prime Minister that it was better to delay further open government legislation until departments could cope with the Data Protection Act.

As early as next year, Information Commissioner Elizabeth France will begin pressuring departments to produce publication schemes laying down what information should be automatically available to the public.