Media roundup

The Guardian - Ministers linked to US casino chiefs
"The note, released under the Freedom of Information Act, was sent ahead of a meeting with MGM's European boss, Lloyd Nathan, at the House of Lords."

Daily Telegraph - Chancellor is failing to cut civil service jobs, claims report
"The figures, reported in a London newspaper yesterday, were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Despite Mr Brown's claims in this year's Budget that 12,500 posts were being cut by the end of 2004/5, not one arm of government had yet sacked anyone, with thousands of staff being reallocated to other areas, the paper claimed."

Sheffield today - Shock figures as a new football season gets under way
"THE cost of policing South Yorkshire's football matches is spiralling - and has topped £8.7 million over the last five years. Figures revealed to The Star under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the costs of match day policing have almost doubled during the period."

Egov Monitor - Latest FOI disclosure identifies names of projects reviewed
"Details of government IT programmes that have been subject to confidential Gateway Review checks have been made public for the first time. The Office of Government Commerce has made the disclosure following a request from an unknown party under the Freedom of Information Act. The OGC released on 2 August a list of 271 major IT-related programmes which it reviewed between February 2001, when the Gateway system was introduced to prevent government IT failures, and March 2004."

Holdthefrontpage - Chief reporter wins access to financial dealings despite failed FOI request
"The Eastern Daily Press has finally been able to report on the financial details of a Norfolk council after the paper threatened to report it to the local government watchdog.....Not giving up, James instead decided to use the Local Government Act 1972 provisions instead...."I mentioned a complaint to the LGO on Friday afternoon and I had the full report on Monday morning." "

Eastern Daily Press - Information laws put strain on NHS
"Greedy companies are taking advantage of freedom of information laws to boost profits at the public's expense putting an extra strain on Norfolk's overstretched health budgets.The Freedom of Information Act, which came into force on January 1, was intended to guarantee members of the public access to information held by public bodies. But eight months later staff at cash-strapped hospitals and primary care trusts (PCTs) have found themselves spending hours answering queries from private companies exploiting the act to help them market products or services at the NHS."