Broken link

Apologies - the broken link to the public interest test document now works

Guidance on the Public Interest test

A new document is on the IC website outlining the key elements of the public interest test

Download PDF

the Commissioner lists the following public interest factors that would encourage the disclosure of information:

• furthering the understanding of and participation in the public debate of issues of the day. This factor would come into play if disclosure would allow a more informed debate of issues under consideration by the Government or a local authority.
• promoting accountability and transparency by public authorities for decisions taken by them. By placing an obligation on authorities and officials to provide reasoned explanations for decisions made will improve the quality of decisions and administration.
the Commissioner lists the following public interest factors that would encourage the disclosure of information:
• furthering the understanding of and participation in the public debate of issues of the day. This factor would come into play if disclosure would allow a more informed debate of issues under consideration by the Government or a local authority.
• promoting accountability and transparency by public authorities for decisions taken by them. By placing an obligation on authorities and officials to provide reasoned explanations for decisions made will improve the quality of decisions and administration.

Education Sector FOI publication schemes

These schemes will be active from the 29th Feb. Some have started to appear already, the Open University being one example. http://www.open.ac.uk/foi/

Public Interest test research available

Many exemptions from disclosure are subject to a public interest test. The Information Commissioner asked the Constitution Unit at University College London to carry out a study of the Public Interest test in other FOI jurisdictions as a guide
to how the test should be applied in the UK. Paper copies are also available for purchase from the Constitution Unit.

Download research (PDF format)

US info-sharing program draws fire

Taken from Security Focus.com

"The so-called Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) program allows corporations who run key elements of U.S. infrastructure - energy firms, telecommunications carriers, financial institutions, etc. - to submit details about their physical and cyber vulnerabilities to a newly-formed office within the Department of Homeland Security, with legally-binding assurances that the information will not be used against them or released to the public.

The programme implements controversial legislation that bounced around Capitol Hill for years before Congress passed it in the wake of the September 11 attacks as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Security agencies have long sought information about vulnerabilities and likely attack points in critical infrastructures, but have found the private sector reluctant to share, for fear that sensitive or embarrassing information would be released through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."

FOI event for HE and FE

Freedom of Information - The Road to Compliance: 1st January 2005 and Beyond
Monday 29 March 2004, Avon Gorge Hotel, Bristol. Run by the JISC legal information service http://www.jisc.ac.uk/legal

Details: http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/events/jlis.html

Thanks to Ralph Wheedon for this info...

Countdown to compliance slides

Some PowerPoint slides are available from the Public Partners Website

Maurice Frankel slides

Stephen Morris, Simon Banks, Phil Boyd, Dilys Jones slides

New documents on DCA website

Some new research and papers (PDF) have beed added to the Dept of Consititutional Affairs Website:

1.Computer systems for aiding the management and monitoring of Freedom of Information Requests

2.Management of Freedom of Information Requests in other Jurisdictions: A report by Joyce Plotnikoff and Richard Woolfson for the Department for Constitutional Affairs

3. Departmental Questionnaire on Systems for Monitoring and Managing Requests for Information

XML (ATOM) feed

You can now access the weblog as an ATOM XML feed (similar to RSS) at this URL

http://foia.blogspot.com/atom.xml

You can read ATOM or RSS feeds in newsreaders or syndicate the blog headlines to your website of Intranet


More about Atomincluding a list of newsreaders

Irish Information Commissioner : website update

There are some new documents on the Irish IC website: some recent cases of dispute where the IC has made a decision, some recent speeches and a high court judgement. Cases include disputed access to personal information access to tender information and an application for salaries of presenters at TV station RTE.


http://www.oic.gov.ie/new.htm

Survey published on the Information Commissioner's website

"How prepared is Central Government for the Freedom of Information Act? The Information Commissioner has undertaken of a survey into how prepared central government departments are for the full implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in January 2005"


Download the report (PDF)

E-govenment bulletin seminar

'FoI compliance - the key to e-government?' takes place on 25
February at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, central London. Speakers
include Fred Perkins, CEO of Information TV and former CEO of the
Stationery Office; Kelvin Smith, Records Management Consultant,
Public Records Office; John Hoard, the Department of Constitutional
Affairs; as well as people from public sector agencies in the front-line
on the progress being made.


http://www.electronic-government.com/foi.htm

The wrong type of FOI headline for a public authority

From the US - not the type of headlines many organisations will want in 2005. An important message here about the dangers of treating requestors differently.

"Public records audit: Some records requests met with suspicion and threats. Public officials, ignorant of the law or paralyzed by suspicion, regularly thwart citizens exercising their constitutional right to inspect public records, a statewide audit has found. While journalists and attorneys enjoy the benefits of Florida's open government laws, the same rights are not always granted to Florida's other residents."

St Augustine News (Florida) Feb. 7th

Does technology investment lead to openness?

There is an excellent paper available entitled "Spin control and freedom of information: Lessons for the United Kingdom from Canada" by Professor Alasdair Roberts (Campbell Public Affairs institute, Syracuse Uni, NY) covering detailed research into the use of technology by Canadian public authorities to central manage and counter potentially damaging FOI requests (using an alerting system of categorising requests). Comparisons are then made with potential in the UK for similar scenarios. Well worth a read.

PDF available online

Any views on this? steve_wood62@hotmail.com

OECD Ministers Support Open Access for Publicly Funded Research Data

Information Today : the OCED has issued a Final Communique on Jan. 30, 2004, supporting open access to publicly funded research data. According to the story, this support for open access definitely extends to large data collections such as the Human Genome Project, and may extend to reports and journal articles paid for by national governments.

Act Now FOI training

The following training courses are running:

Belfast 14th June

Leeds 27th May

London 31st March

For full details and other courses
see www.actnowtraining.co.uk

Guardian: demands for PFI to be made more open

Article from the Politics section outlines the problems of secrecy surrounding PFI deals.

Reminder: under FOIA 2000 the details of exemptions related to commercial interest are subject to a public interest test, information supplied in confidence is not. See full text of the Act for detail.

Minutes of Parliamentary evidence

The transcript of evidence given by Maurice Frankel (the Director of the Uk Campaign for FOI) and others to the Public Administration Select Committee (15th Jan.) is now on the UK Parliament website

FOI Report available on Freepint website

Press release:

"The Freedom of Information Act comes into force in the UK on January
1st 2005. Everyone will then have the legal right to request access to
all types of recorded information held by public bodies. Requests can
be in any written form including email or fax, from anywhere in the
world, and must be supplied within twenty working days. A new report
published by FreePint, An Introduction to Freedom of Information by
Paul Pedley explains in plain language the key workings of the act and
dispels some myths. It is available to purchase priced GBP25
online from <http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/>."

The Manchester Branch of the British Computer Society is holding a very interesting meeting on 23 February 2004 at UMIST. The meeting is entitled DEVELOPMENTS IN DATA PROTECTION AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION and will be given by Mr. Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner himself. The recently appointed Information Commissioner will discuss developments in the protection of personal privacy, especially as it is affected by the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts. He will address the practical means for computer users to ensure that they stay within the law and that their data is secure.

Details of the meeting are as follows:

23 February 2004 at 6 15 pm

DEVELOPMENTS IN DATA PROTECTION AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

BCS Manchester Branch & BCS Northern Medical SiG

Speaker: Mr. Richard Thomas, Information Commissioner

Venue: Renold Building, UMIST For directions please check http://www.crim.co.umist.ac.uk/location/

Lifecyce of FOI requests

A new document is avaialble on the Information Commissioner's website

"deliberately a technical, step by step explanation of the procedures
which the Act requires public authorities to follow."

After Hutton: "It is wishful thinking to suggest that the Hutton inquiry provides
a foretaste of life under the Freedom of Information Act"

Article by Robert Hazel on the UCL constitution Unit website

UCL are are also a conducting a study of the public interest test in other FOI jurisdictions as a guide to how the test should be applied in the UK on behalf of the information commissiomner

UK FOI: MPs fear criticism over excessive expenses claims

Daily Telegraph 02/02/2004

"MPs are preparing for a blitz of bad publicity this year when individual details of their £100,000-plus expenses are published for the first time.

In order to comply with the Freedom of Information Act, the House of Commons will reveal the exact amount claimed in parliamentary allowances by every MP."