Government should soon start conducting research into how well freedom of information legislation is working in the region.

After addressing the Barbados Association of Journalists & Media Workers’ (BARJAM) annual general meeting at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), The Pine, St Michael, on Saturday night, Minister of Home Affairs and Information Gregory Nicholls made it clear there was no Freedom of Information Bill before Parliament, but his intention was for preliminary work to begin looking at countries which had passed such laws.

“I’ve asked the ministry to conduct some wider research on freedom of information legislation and to compare how it has been implemented and what have been the results in relation to how the public in some Caribbean countries have been dealing with it. So that research is being conducted, and when that is done, I intend to engage with the Cabinet on all these matters,” he said.