One persons trivial is another persons art. FOI exists to liberate information created using taxpayers money, so that information can be used by the public as t

One persons trivial is another persons art. FOI exists to liberate information created using taxpayers money, so that information can be used by the public as they wish (after all, they paid for it). Every request enhances the publics understanding of government, and every request creates the opportunity for the information to be reused in new unforeseen ways. Some may seem trivial (like a random apology generator), others may significantly impact people’s day-to-day lives (better public transit routing apps). But until the FOI happens, and people can play with the data, neither will ever happen. Frequently the people doing impactful things with the data, aren’t the same people requesting it. It’s also likely that many of those impactful projects would never be started if the data wasn’t already free. So every “trivial” request may lead to something far more impactful down the road. If you’re concerned about the cost involved. Then I would recommend criticising government for not making FOI fulfilment either efficient, or unnecessary. If government agencies just published the data (like TfL does), then there wouldn’t be any need for FOI requests.