The housing ministry is one of the chief culprits spending taxpayer money to block Freedom of Information requests.
The department is one of six which collectively spent £519,784.91 on legal fees attempting to conceal information.
In one instance, the MHCLG spent £39,000 over two years on an attempt to block the release of the ministerial diary of James Wharton, the minister for the northern powerhouse from 2015 to 2016.
The eventual disclosure showed that, where locations were identifiable, the majority of his meetings had taken place in London, rather than in the north.
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