A FULL impact assessment to clarify the cost of introducing Freedom of Information legislation in the Island will take place.

The Council of Ministers approved the move on Thursday, two days after Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK revealed the proposal in the House of Keys when answering a question on the legislation from Liberal Vannin MHK Kate Beecroft (Douglas South).

Mr Bell said: "As I said in the House of Keys it would be irresponsible to introduce a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in the current financial climate without first being clear about how much it is likely to cost in terms of public resources.

"The bill introduced in the previous house was not subject to a comprehensive impact assessment and there have been various estimates of the price of FOI.

"At a time of potential cuts in spending on public services we really do need to know what it will cost so that we can properly prepare and plan this legislation.

"The impact assessment is being given high priority and I am committed to making a statement on progress by the February 2012 sitting of Tynwald.

"In the meantime we still have the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and I am pleased that the Council of Ministers has agreed with me that as an interim measure this should be significantly strengthened to make the recommendations of the code commissioner, the High Bailiff, binding on all government departments."

Also see: "Freedom of Information Act could be too expensive to implement" says Chief Minister