Media update

BBc News - Minister found guilty of sex bias
"A government minister has admitted breaking the Sex Discrimination Act by appointing a "weaker" candidate to a prestigious job...When he was passed over in favour of a woman applicant who was the interview panel's third choice, he applied under the Freedom of Information Act to see the notes made by the interview board."

Egov monitor - Public sector should adopt Creative Commons
"Report says new licensing regime will boost access to government dataCreative Commons. licenses (CCLs), a license system that protects the rights of data creators whilst encouraging the sharing and re-use of their works, should be used more widely by the public sector.The recommendation comes in a report by the Common Information Environment (CIE) Group, which points to many advantages of the system for the public sector, including minimum administration requirements and the provision of free resources to users that can legitimately be reused and redistributed."

Guardian - No waiting rooms, no luggage trolleys, no telephones ... worst stations are named
"Stations that provide the worst facilities for passengers are revealed today by the National Audit Office, following a request by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act."

Aberystwyth Today- Kidney patient fears infection
"ABERYSTWYTH’s privately-run dialysis unit could be a health-threat, it was claimed this week. A woman battling kidney-failure complained that allegedly dirty floors, sinks and lavatories at the unit attached to Bronglais Hospi-tal could worsen the risk of exposing already weakened patients to the deadly MRSA superbug...But detailed MRSA figures released under the Freedom of Information Act early this year showed hospitals in Ceredigion had the lowest MRSA infection rate in Wales."

Norwich Evening News - MP wants release of cadmium documents
"A Norfolk MP is using Freedom of Information legislation to help solve the riddle of a possible link between chemicals sprayed over Norwich four decades ago and high rates of oesophageal cancer"

Newcastle Evening Chronicle - Town hall trips cost £95,000
" Council tax payers shelled out around £95,000 for trips abroad by some of the North East's biggest town halls last year.Officials and councillors visited cities across Europe and in some cases America and the Far East.The Chronicle obtained details of the trips under the Freedom of Information Act."

Lincolnshire Echo - PROSTITUTES, DRUG USERS AND DRUNKS
"Staff at Lincoln Central Library have to deal with pornography, drug taking and even prostitution, the Echo can reveal today. According to the library's incident book all these activities and more have been witnessed by staff in the last 12 months, often on a daily basis.The book, obtained by the Echo under the Freedom of Information Act, details occasions when library users have been caught looking at pornographic Internet sites as well as drug taking in the toilets."


Data Protection
Outlaw.com - Durant ends his data protection battle
"Michael Durant, who lost a landmark Court of Appeal ruling on the meaning of "personal data" two years ago, has withdrawn his petition to the House of Lords. This means the House of Lords will no longer review the Court of Appeal's narrow interpretation of the definition."

You may want to alse re-read the ICO note: "The ‘Durant’ Case and its impact on the interpretation of the Data Protection Act 1998." (PDF)

FOI - Hong Kong
Hong Kong Standard -Information rights code lacks real bite
"Effective since the end of 1996, Hong Kong's Code on Access to Information contains all the elements of a freedom of information law, with similar principles and formal procedures for requests and with a 21-day response time. But unlike a real law, it has no statutory force and unlike an independent information commissioner, its requests and complaints are monitored from within the government."