Companies providing public services should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, the new Information Commissioner has said.

Elizabeth Denham, left, says the Act should be extended, echoing calls made by Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson in an interview with Wolverhampton daily the Express & Star 12 months ago.

The News Media Association and the Society of Editors have also argued for the change in the law to be made.

Such a change could see contractors being forced to disclose information such as pay scales below board level, and more data about how services are delivered.

Ms Denham said: “Private contractors above a certain threshold for a contract or doing some specific types of work could be included under the FoI Act.

“The government could do more to include private bodies that are basically doing work on behalf of the public.”

Ms Denham added she supported the introduction of a “duty to document” law in the UK which would help prevent authorities evading FoI requests by trying to ensure that nothing sensitive is recorded in the first place.

She said: “I think the principle is right. I need to understand more about the legal context in the UK to see where such a duty should rest.”