Media update

Daily Telegraph - Hoogstraten's £40m folly 'will never be finished'
"Since then a building inspector from Wealden council has produced a damning report. His findings, which were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, point to damage caused by water leakage; damp seeping into the penthouse, making the walls look like "contour maps"; and vegetation flourishing on the unfinished roof."

The Guardian - Whitehall staff surveys reveal low morale and little faith in managers
"In the Home Office and the education, environment and transport departments more than one in eight officials report bullying or harassment. The staff surveys produced by most departments in Whitehall were released by the Cabinet Office under the Freedom of Information Act."

The Guardian - Public services now have legal means to open up
"Much more government data should now be available free, after the agency charged with opening up access to public sector information had its powers extended last week."

BBC news - Ideas for web activism sought out
"A virtual people's parliament and an archive to store freedom of information requests are two ideas competing for the chance to be built on the web."

Kent Messenger - Taxpayers still funding councillors' foreign travels
"During 2005, Kent county councillors travelled to Europe and America for conferences, seminars, fact-finding missions and trips to drum up investment. The details were disclosed to the Kent Messenger Group under the Freedom of Information Act. This follows earlier revelations of councillors’ and council officials’ foreign travel."

BBC news - Nurse fights on over mast blunder
"A Freedom of Information Act investigation by the BBC News website has revealed that councils in the BBC South region have made the simple mistake 68 times."

Politics.co.uk - Ukip fuels Tory loans row
"The UK Independence party (Ukip) has threatened to use powers under the Freedom of Information Act to make full details of the Conservatives' backers public."

Regional news

Edinburgh Evening news - Row over tram project details
"Objectors to the plans asked for the "benefit-to-cost ratio" of the scheme to be released under Freedom of Information laws."

IC Croydon - Cost of undercover informers kept confidential
"A request for figures made by the Croydon Advertiser, our sister paper, under the Freedom of Information Act was turned down by the Metropolitan Police Service because bosses claim agents could be put in danger."

Belfast Telegraph - Government plans a hubristic folly at Maze
"He, quite rightly, queries the Government's refusal to publish the business plan for a project that is costed at well over £100m of public money and rising. Even requests under the Freedom of Information Act have been turned down - apparently it is 'not in the public interest' to explain to the public the case for spending so much spublic money!"


Overseas
Canada - 940 news - Tories backing away from key plank in proposed accountability act
"The proposed Federal Accountability Act will not include a sweeping set of reforms to Access to Information laws as promised in the Tory platform."

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Technocrati tag: foia-media