India: FOI

The Hindu: Road ahead for access law

Charmaine Rodrigues
and Aditi Datta

Effective implementation is the essence of any good access regime

"AFTER A number of false starts and even one Act which was on the books but never came into force, it is with much excitement that the Right to Information Act 2005 has finally been enacted. This overwhelming success comes after hectic lobbying by civil society with the United Progressive Alliance over the last year. Although it was not an easy process, the government deserves to be commended for responding to civil society's calls for a stronger, more people-friendly RTI law."

Media Roundup

South Wales Echo 30th May- Cost of Assembly could've been half
"MILLIONS of pounds could have been saved for the public purse if City Hall had been chosen as home of the National Assembly, it has been revealed."

Daily Telegraph 29th May- TfL accused of peddling phoney phone statistics
"But TfL documents obtained by The Sunday Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act show that only 14 per cent of the commuters questioned for a survey said they wanted mobile coverage to extend to stations but not to tunnels. More than 90 per cent backed the construction of a mobile network in some form on the entire Tube system."

Sunday Times Scotland 29th May - Hospital food served up in ‘dangerous conditions’
"Local authority reports, obtained by The Sunday Times under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal a catalogue of unsanitary and often dangerous conditions."

Sunday Times 29th May - BBC paper shufflers dodge the jobs axe
"The BBC has budgeted £8.08m for its charter review project, for work relating to the renewal of the corporation’s royal charter, from February 2003 to March 2006, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. Its parliamentary affairs department has, separately, spent £5.03m from 2001-5 on “corporate issues with parliament and politicians."

Cayman net news online - The case of the missing accord
"A request was made by Cayman Net News under the UK Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for a copy of an accord between the governments of Cuba and the Cayman Islands, signed on or before May 1995, concerning the repatriation of Cuban migrants that arrive in the Cayman Islands, and also the British Government’s authorization to the Governor of the Cayman Islands for the repatriation process of Cubans."

Lincolnshire Echo - Could weird lights be alien visitors?
"Under the Freedom of Information Act the Echo has received details of all official UFO sightings reported to the military over the past five years."

New disclosure logs

New logs added to the index:

-Birmingham City Council

-London School of Economics

(Thanks to Stephen)

Analysis of New India Right to Information Law:

"Good, Bad, and Ugly (maybe)" Says Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

See Freedominfo.org

Morgan Cole newsletter

Law Firm Morgan Cole have sent me a free FOI newsletter available for download

The blog has no connection with the company

Media roundup

BBC news 26th May - Immigrant centre escapes revealed
"The Home Office has revealed that 13 men have escaped from Haslar immigration removal centre at Gosport in Hampshire in less than two years. The details were disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act."

Telegraph 27th May - The number of Derbyshire police cars caught speeding: 59; The number of Derbyshire police officers prosecuted: 0
"Derbyshire Police made the admission after The Derby Evening Telegraph used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the statistics."

Accountancy Age - FRC voices fears over freedom of information
High level talks between the Financial Reporting Council and the DTI have taken place to address the regulator's fears that it would be unable to perform its role properly should sensitive corporate information become available under the Freedom of Information Act.

Western Mail - Health tourists 'cost Wales £3m a year'
"But, following questions submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government by the Western Mail, under the Freedom of Information Act, it emerged that the Assembly Government could be open to Human Rights Act legal cases in attempting to close the loophole which allows patients from England to travel across the border and pick up reduced-cost prescription items in Wales at the Assembly's expense."

Evening Gazette (Teeside) - Cash back
"Electronics giant Samsung has been forced to hand back millions of pounds of Government money it received to set up its microwave and PC monitor plants at Wynyard, on Teesside..But information obtained by the Evening Gazette under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed the company has paid back less than a quarter - £2.295m."

Western Mail - The biggest plumbing bill ever?
"A DOCUMENT produced by the Welsh Assembly Government makes the astonishing claim it would cost £65m to replace corroded copper piping at a hospital opened only 21 years ago. The incredible figure appears in a list of applications for capital funding made by NHS bodies in Wales. Dated March 2005, the list was released to the Western Mail following a request under the Freedom of Information Act."

The Times 26th May
"The legitimacy of Nominet, the registry of .uk web domain names, was called into question today after it was revealed that the Government has provided no statutory authority for the company to make judgments about web addresses in the UK....Mr Cohen made the discovery after he made an application to the Department of Trade & Industry under the Freedom of Information Act to ascertain whether the Nominet’s decisions are binding."

Eastern Daily Press - Confusion over twin bins rife
"Almost a quarter of North Norfolk householders have received cautions for not using their new wheelie bins properly.New figures gained through the Freedom of Information Act suggest residents are still confused between green and grey bins rubbish - a year after twin bins were introduced."

Leicester Mercury - Traveller site debate is to be kept secret
Council discussions about possible traveller sites are to remain secret after a Mercury bid to make them public was blocked.Leicester City Council has refused to release details under the Freedom of Information Act - but a councillor has revealed that two options are close to the M1."

Ombudsman makes final report on government openness

Press release

04/05

26 May 2005

Ombudsman makes final report on government openness

Ombudsman website

The Parliamentary Ombudsman today published a special report on her Office’s monitoring of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information over the past 11 years and a two-part volume of the last investigations into complaints that government information had been wrongly withheld from those who had asked for it. From January 2005 the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came fully into force superseding the non-statutory Code.

The report sets out the history of the Ombudsman’s involvement in monitoring the Code of Practice after the Office was asked to take on this task in 1994; examines some of the landmark cases; and considers the impact of the Ombudsman’s work on freedom of information generally. The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, said, ‘Through the decisions my Office has reached, much of the groundwork has been done to create a much more receptive climate for the Freedom of Information regime than was the case when we started our work on openness 11 years ago.’

‘Under the Code, and even more so under the Act, it is not now possible to operate under the ancient principle of the “need to know”; now there is a right to know and an expectation that information will be released. It should be withheld only if there is clear justification, supported by an exemption. We must also recognise that people want information when they want it, not when someone else thinks it appropriate for them to have it. Through the cases we have investigated, we have for the first time in this country explored the key issues that arise in the consideration of freedom of information. Not the least of these is the difficult territory of the public interest test. Much of what we have looked at under the Code will be looked at again under the Freedom of Information Act. I hope that what we have done will provide some useful help and guidance to those who will be doing that work.’

A number of landmark cases contributed to the development of a more proactive approach by government departments in making information – especially internal guidance – routinely accessible to anyone who wanted it. Some ‘heavyweight’ cases, involving complex and voluminous material, were particularly politically sensitive. Examples of such cases in the 1990s involved information about nuclear reprocessing at Dounreay and the export of a multi-purpose riot gun.

Another of the Office’s achievements was to press successfully for the release of information which might not otherwise have found its way into the public domain.
This sometimes involved gaining general acceptance that, in most cases, information decreases in sensitivity as it ages. In one case about accidents involving nuclear weapons (A.12/03), the Ombudsman took the view that, while the information requested was covered by a Code exemption, the strong public interest, and the unlikelihood of significant harm being caused by the release of old information about accidents involving obsolete weapons systems, meant that the information should be made available.

Ann Abraham, said, ‘I am proud of this body of specialised work represented by our investigations. The report highlights some of the major cases we have dealt with and attempts to draw some key lessons about freedom of information and how it should be operated. I hope it will provide useful guidance at a time when over a hundred thousand public sector bodies are taking their first, tentative steps into the brave new world of open government.’

Legal advice and war in Iraq - what role for FOI?

In the context of FOI, not much has been written about the release of the Iraq war legal advice, published by Downing Street on the 28th April. Many FoI requests had been submitted for the legal advice as soon as the Act came into force on the 1st January. Many journalists had called the issue "totemic" - what stance would the Government and Information Commissioner take? . The government turned down the requests (see the details). The requests went back to internal appeal and following no change in reponse the matter was referred to the Information Commissioner. In the end the force of leaks pushed the government to act and the release the documents full documents . The release did not acknowledge FoI and the resulting media coverage made little reference to FoI. I've done some searching using a full text database on a time span from the 28th April to date - there have been 217 national newspaper articles mentioning the words "legal AND advice AND war AND iraq" but only 2 articles mention these terms with the words "freedom of information act".

What does the episode do for FoI and key issues in Central Government? Is FoI having an impact on key issues - or is the secretive culture still in place? Does the way to get information released on controversial areas still rely on leaks and media pressure? Also -why the media has made so little of the fact their FoI requests were never met?

Northern Ireland conference

Act Now Training's inaugural Northern Ireland conference is to be held in Belfast on 5th October 2005.

Speakers include

Marie Anderson (Asst Information Commissioner for Northern Ireland)
Emily O'Reilly (Irish Information Commissioner)
Maurice Frankel (Director, Campaign for Freedom of Information)

Full programme and details of early bird booking discount at www.actnow.org.uk

Media roundup

The Times 24th May- The four hundred laws that shackle your right to know
"In 1987, 31 people died in the Kings Cross Tube station fire. The Fennell Report into the disaster found that many of the dangers had been identified in reports by the fire brigade, police and Railway Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Standards Committee. Yet there was one group of people who were kept in the dark about the danger: the Tube-travelling public. Almost 20 years have passed and the public are still being denied access to these reports, despite the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. The secrecy is because of an obscure law ” Section 21 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971” that makes disclosure to the public a criminal offence."

Standard (Africa) - Freedom of information law to be enacted (Kenya)

South Wales Evening Post 24th May - BATTLERS CALL FOR DECISION PAPERS
"Protesters fighting plans to axe Dylan Thomas School are trying to force Swansea Council to release documents which led to the decision. An application for undisclosed information has been made by the Cockett school's governors under the new Freedom of Information Act."

LGCnet - LGC freedom of information conference: media, businesses and individuals making most foi requests
"Requests for information from councils under the Freedom Of Information Act have come primarily from the media, but there has also been significant interest from trade unions, companies, individuals and from community pressure groups. According to Mirza Ahmad, chief legal officer at Birmingham City Council, and chair of the Bar Association for Local Government and the Public Service, and lead officer (ethical framework issues) at Acses, there have also been significant numbers of requests from local politicians – and not just from the opposition parties."

Press and Journal (North Scotland)- highland health staff payouts total £130,000
"Compensation payouts totalling almost £130,000 were made to Highland health staff who suffered back injuries over the past five years. Personal injury claims filed against NHS Highland reveal that by far the biggest individual payments were from spinal injuries at hospitals and facilities across the region. The figures were released by NHS Highland after a request from the Press and Journal under the Freedom of Information Act."

Press and Journal(North Scotland)- six babies treated for raigmore superbug
"Six new-born babies and two children have been treated for the MRSA superbug in the Highlands main hospital since 2003, reinforcing the danger the infection now poses to youngsters in hospital wards. The Press and Journal obtained the figures from NHS Highland yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act."

Teaching Times - Bad behaviour takes exclusions to record high
"Figures revealed to the Birmingham Evening Mail under the Freedom of Information Act, show that school exclusions have soared by 50% in just two years, reaching 274 in Birmingham's 74 secondary schools."

Cumbria Online - 20 dirtiest kitchens
"A News & Star investigation can reveal that butchers, hotels, restaurants, takeaways, greengrocers, residential homes and a school have come under fire for not meeting food hygiene standards. We have been able to lift the lid on West Cumbria’s dirty kitchens using the Freedom of Information Act."

Bath Chronicle - Taxpayers' £50,000 bill for extra freedom
"Local government reporter MORE people are using the new Freedom of Information Act in Bath than in any other area of the country. But residents' eagerness to find out information held by public bodies is coming at a cost. Taxpayers in the area have so far had to pay £50,000 just to fund Bath and North East Somerset Council's deliberations and research into answering their requests."

Eastern Daily Press - Council paid £21,000 for four days work
"A council paid more than £21,000 to two termporary senior officers who worked for just four days each. The figures were revealed by Waveney District Council after the EDP asked for documents about the issue under the Freedom of Information Act."

Environmental Health News - Highland authority posts kitchen inspections on website, setting new ‘accountability standard’
"Highland Council in Scotland has placed all its hygiene and health and safety inspection reports on its website. The council says that, as well as ‘significantly reducing the administrative burden of dealing with individual freedom of information requests’, the move will highlight positively the work done by the council’s environmental health service."

Newark advertiser - Prime site went to lowest bidder
"Information has now come to light about the bids offered to the district council for a prime building plot in Newark. It shows the council accepted the price from the lowest bidder, instead of one that was £245,000 higher. Details of the bids submitted to Newark and Sherwood District Council for the former Wadham Stringer car showroom site on the corner of Castlegate and Lombard Street were made public, after the Advertiser requested the documents using the Freedom of Information Act."

New disclosure logs

The index has been updated with logs from:

-The National Archives-The Prescription Pricing Authority

Authority rapped after freedom of information act complaint

Scotsman 23rd May
"A PUBLIC authority was today formally criticised for breaching new freedom of information laws. In his first complaint ruling, Scotland's information commissioner, Kevin Dunion, said the Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnership had wrongly refused to release information on the calibration of its equipment. It has given the organisation three months to make improvements."

RMS award

The University of Edinburgh has received the Records Management Society Award 2005. They were presented with the award for their work in preparing for the implementation of the Scottish Freedom of Information Act. University records manager Susan Graham, received the award on behalf of the university at the society's annual conference at Bournemouth.

Records Management Toolkit for Schools.

The Records Management Society has produced a records management toolkit to help schools achieve FOI compliance. Elizabeth Barber, one of the team involved in putting together the toolkit, outlines its purpose and the background to its development.

More at: EGov Monitor

Private forests cost taxpayers £40m

Guardian 23rd May - Private forests cost taxpayers £40m
"The Forestry Commission has released details of the grants for the last two years, showing that Scotland's largest landowners and companies from Denmark, Finland, Canada, Holland and Austria have scooped the cash for tax-free investments in new plantations. The Forestry Commission released the information to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act."

FOI in India

The following site may of interest if you are following the progress of FOI in India:
Hum Janenge: People’s resolve to Know

"The central Right to Information Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on May 12, 2005 and by the Rajya Sabha on May 14. It is now awaiting the President's assent. Apart from covering thus the affairs of the central government and its agencies, the central act will apply to all states for their own departments and agencies."

Media roundup

Times of India - New law could transform state-citizen equation
"The title of the TOI editorial - "Two cheers for Right to Information Bill" (May 13) - is true in more ways than one. We need to appreciate the challenges that lie ahead as we come to terms with this potentially path-breaking legislation. How can the bureaucracy be persuaded to support, and not hamper, the implementation process? Can as many Indians as possible be encouraged to use the law to enforce transparency and accountability in the system?"

Guardian 22nd May - Records Reveal Guantanamo Stories
"Their stories are tucked inside nearly 2,000 pages of documents the U.S. government released to The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit."

East Anglian Daily Times - Rise in police disciplinary action cases
"Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows almost 50 Essex Police officers were required to resign, demoted, fined or issued with written warnings in the last financial year."

EU Directive on Public Sector Information

Training course annoucement:

EU Directive on Public Sector Information – The Next Big Thing
The EU Directive on Public Sector Information will be implemented in the UK on 1st July 2005 through regulations. The aim of the Directive is to remove obstacles that stand in the way of re-using public sector information. Key obligations for public authorities (including the health, local governement and central government sectors) include:

· being transparent and open about the terms and fees for re-use of information they hold
· where licences are required, standard terms and conditions should be offered
· having accurate notices and statements on documents and websites
· producing an Asset List so that potential re-users of information know what is available
· having a complaints process


The Directive will have a big impact on the public sector and will complement Freedom of Information. In the area of information governance it really is “the next big thing.”

Act Now Training is running two seminars which will examin the new law in detail:

27th June 2005 : Manchester

1st July 2005 : London

£99 + VAT

Full details : www.actnow.org.uk or ring 01925 451054

A Freedom of Information Bill for Nigeria

Further to my previous posting, a further proposed Draft FOI Bill for Nigeria was published by barrister Ime Akpan, Partner, A.I.I. associates in response to the call for same by the Senate Committee on Information towards the public hearing on the proposed Freedom of Information Bill for Nigeria holding at the National Assembly, Abuja, Tuesday April 26, 2005

Download the Bill (PDF)

Ime Akpan presentation

New law a waste of time, claims council

BOSSES at a Scots council say their staff are struggling to cope with a flood of Freedom of Information requests.
East Renfrewshire received 81 requests in the first 60 days of the new legislation. And officials claim many were a waste of time.

Evening Times (Glasgow)

HMSO becomes The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI)

There is a new website at www.opsi.gov.uk
"The Office of Public Sector Information is at the heart of information policy, setting standards, delivering access and encouraging re-use of public sector information. We provide online access to UK legislation, license the re-use of Crown copyright material, manage the Information Fair Trader Scheme, maintain the Government’s Information Asset Register and provide advice and guidance on official publishing and Crown copyright"

The OPSI has the lead for the UK implementation of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 which come into force on 1st July 2005. There is a useful case study available as well as other advice and guidance.

Further reading: Aligning the FOI and PSI Initiatives in the UK (Version 2.0)

Key obligations under the Directive
Standard Licences
You will be required to be transparent and open about the terms of re-use you offer and any re-use fees you may charge. Where licences are required, you should use standard terms and conditions. To help you, we have produced some example licences which you may adapt for your own use.

Copyright and Licensing Arrangements
It will help re-users if you provide accurate notices and statements on your documents and websites. This will focus on copyright ownership and arrangements for re-use. To help you, we have produced some examples which you may adapt for your own use.

Asset Lists
You will be required to produce an asset list so that potential re-users of your information know what is available for them to re-use. This asset list should include both published and unpublished information that you hold. OPSI is currently developing a model for the next generation Information Asset Register (IAR) that will enable public bodies to easily identify information assets that are available for re-use. More information on this will be available shortly.

Transparency and Fairness
You will be required to be transparent and fair in the way that you process applications to re-use your material. Our Information Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS) has been set up to help you meet this obligation. The current scheme involves a formal verification to show compliance which will not be appropriate for most organisations. Therefore, we are developing a simplified self-assessment scheme, details of which will be published later this year.

Complaints
You will be required to be open about how users can complain about the service they receive from you. You should publish details of your complaints process

Also see Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information

(Thanks to Sue)

Media roundup

Guardian May 19th - Universities at risk to remain anonymous
"Government officials are refusing to reveal which 11 universities they have been monitoring because they are "at risk" of financial failure. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) last night turned down an appeal from EducationGuardian.co.uk to reveal which universities are on the "institutional risk monitoring" documents, which it released last month under the Freedom of Information Act, with the names and identifying factors blanked out."

Texas Legislature Passes Open Government Training Legislation

An interesting to FOIA training approach in Texas: "The Texas Legislature passed legislation that authorizes the Texas Attorney General office to require each elected or appointed government official in Texas to complete a training course on open records and open meetings laws."

More information at: Government Technology

Qualified persons appointed under Section 36 of the Act

Section 36 - Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs
Information is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act if a qualified person believes that releasing it is not in the public interest. The DCA have produced a list of the qualified persons for public authorities

New Disclosure log

New disclosure log added for South Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority

Media roundup

Huddersfield Examiner - Waste of money!
"HEADHUNTERS were paid £22,000 by Kirklees Council to fill a single position. And leading councillors have hit out at the authority saying they are wasting tax payers' money on recruitment consultants. The Examiner requested the figures under the new Freedom of Information Act."

This is North Scotland - Shocking figures show most nhs wards in grampian have been hit by superbug
"Almost every ward in the main hospitals in the north-east has been affected by the MRSA superbug. Unprecedented figures showing the true picture of the infection in the area have been obtained by the Press and Journal under the Freedom of Information Act."

This is North Scotland- Holyrood happy with £50,000 spent on drink in seven months
"The Scottish Parliament has defended the amount of money spent on alcohol in the members' bar and restaurant. According to figures available under the Freedom of Information Act, about £50,000 worth of wine, beer and spirits have been consumed in seven months between the time the new building opened in September and the end of March."

Bath Chronicle - Higher risk of being caught
"According to data obtained by the Sunday Times newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act, the region has seen the greatest rise in the country in the number of "live" roadside units."

India Approves Stronger Right to Information Law

taken from: http://www.freedominfo.org

May 16, 2005 - India's Lok Sobha (Parliament) approved a new and stronger Right to Information Act on May 11, 2005, and the English-language text of the new law was posted today at www.freedominfo.org, the virtual network of international freedom of information advocates. One of the co-founders of India's National Campaign for the Peoples' Right to Know, Shekhar Singh, commented that the act "has turned out rather well and certainly better than we expected."

The new law replaces a weaker law enacted by the Lok Sobha in 2002 but never entered into force by the previous government, which was replaced in the elections of 2004 by the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress Party coalition. Mrs. Gandhi made the right to information a major component of her platform, and appointed a distinguished group of civil society advisers, including Aruna Roy of MKSS, as a National Advisory Council to hold the new government to its promises.

On 23 December 2004, Roy and other Council members wrote Mrs. Gandhi (who serves as the majority leader in the Parliament and the head of the Council, but not as a minister) to protest the government's draft, just introduced in Parliament, of a new right-to-information law, which retreated significantly from campaign pledges as well as the Council's own discussions with Mrs. Gandhi. The new law, as passed on May 11, addresses most of the problems identified by the Council's letter, and represents a significant step toward greater government openness in the world's largest democracy.

The first issue of "Open Government: a journal on freedom of information" contains a commentary on the draft bill

Not the FOI headline Lord Falconer would have wanted.....

Interesting story in the Guardian today -Secret papers reveal Falconer role in breaking up NUM
"Labour's current lord chancellor, Charles Falconer, provided vital legal advice at the height of the miners' strike 20 years ago to enable the Thatcher government and the National Coal Board to assist the breakup of the National Union of Mineworkers, according to previously secret documents released to the Guardian."


Also see

Mole betrayed striking miners
Coal board panicked over Scargill libel

Media roundup

Sunday Mail 15th May - Blair set for a bumper pay day when he quits No.10
"Documents released in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act reveal the special pension comes on top of Blair's MP's allowance, which could be payable from age 60because of his long service as an MP. Blair was elected in 1983 and - assuming the maximum 10 per cent contribution from his £59,000 MPs salary each year - he could retire in eight years with a pension of almost £39,000."

Daily Telegraph 15th May - Revealed: how rowdy schoolboys knocked a leg off one of the Elgin Marbles
"The documents, released by the British Museum under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the 2,500-year-old antiquities have had to be repaired after a number of mishaps, acts of theft and vandalism by visitors."

Sunday Herald 15th May- Revealed: the safety ‘failures’ at Dounreay
"In response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, Sepa has provided the Sunday Herald with a 26-page list summarising every incident at Dounreay. It reveals that, since 1999, there have been an average of 40 problems a year, with the highest number, 53, in 2004."

Sunday Times 15th May - Wembley voting begins
"The five shortlisted names for the new Wembley footbridge were announced on Friday and within hours the London Development Agency had received two official requests under the Freedom of Information Act from some voters unhappy with the choices."

EHealth 12th May - 300 practices' QoF results online at GP's site
"Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) results for nearly 300 practices have been put online by a GP who plans to include data for every practice in the UK as figures are released. Dr Gavin Jamie, a GP in Swindon, Wiltshire, has set up his website, www.gpcontract.co.uk, with the figures that have so far been supplied by nine primary care trusts....The Freedom of Information Act has stimulated publication of practice by practice results for the Quality and Outcomes Framework. However, many PCTs approached by Dr Jamie have said they will not release information at the moment as figures for every practice in England are due to be published in early August by the Health and Social Care Information Centre."

ICSurrey - MP's hospital claims rejected by NHS trust
"THE future strategy for Epsom Hospital has come under attack for allegedly planning to cut beds and move to a £20m specialist unit.Chris Grayling, the newly reelected Tory MP for Epsom and Ewell, demanded internal NHS documents from the hospital under the Freedom of Information Act."

Gloucstershire Echo - MCDONALD'S WARNED BY INSPECTORS
"Environmental health officers have written to McDonald's in Cheltenham telling staff to clean up their act. The letter was sent to the restaurant at Kingsditch Retail Park after inspectors found dirty conditions that could allow insects to breed.It said: "According to your own pest control records, debris water beneath the dishwashing machine was prov- iding ideal conditions for flies to breed." The letter was released under the Freedom of Information Act."

Observer 15th May - Exam results reveal gender gulf in schools
'This data shows there are schools that seem to be educating their students to a very high level, but which actually need to be making a major effort to get their boys up to scratch,' said Ralph Lucas, editor of the Good Schools Guide, which requested the data from the Department for Education and Skills under the Freedom of Information Act.

Exeter Express and Echo- JOBS FEAR OF CALL CENTRE
"A summary of the business case for the centre - obtained by the Echo after submitting a Freedom of Information request - says that by the time the centre is up and running it will be operated by 69 staff."


US FOIA

Washington Post - AP President Urges Media to Build Alliance
"Confronted with growing government secrecy, the news media must forge a stronger alliance with the public on the need for open government policies, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said Saturday."

CFOI Training course - Scotland

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland is providing a half-day training course in Glasgow on Monday 27 June 2005. The training will be lead by Maurice Frankel, director of the campaign and a leading expert in the field. The course will provide a working guide to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act and will also cover the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations and the UK FoI Act.

Please see: booking form
This information can also be found at
http://www.cfoi.org.uk/glasgowcourse.html

If anyone requires a printed flyer and booking form, please email with their postal
address to katherine@cfoi.demon.co.uk

Baroness Ashton keeps FOI brief

FOI has escaped for a change after a Cabinet Reshuffle, responsility for FOI at the DCA stays with Baroness Ashton of Upholland

Freedom of Information: The Story so Far

Act Now Training

www.actnow.org.uk

Freedom of Information: The Story so Far
28th September 2005 : 9.45am – 4.30pm

The Selfridge Hotel, Central London

£299 + vat

Early Bird Price - £265 + vat (till 27th May)

Main Speakers:

Keynote Address: Gerrard Tracey

Assistant Information Commissioner

Maurice Frankel, Director

Campaign for Freedom of Information

Rob Evans, Westminster Correspondent

The Guardian

Gervase Hood, Information Rights Division

Department for Constitutional Affairs



Chaired by : Steve Wood
Senior lecturer in Information Management and editor of the FOI Blog
Liverpool John Moores University


Key Issues to be Discussed

Latest news from the Information Commissioner
The Commissioner’s approach to enforcement
New developments and cases
The journalist’s perspective
Impact on the NHS, central and local government
Commercial contract issues and copyright
Lessons from FOI around the world
Looking ahead to the future

Further details and booking form

US FOIA

Guardian 11th May - Congress Urged Not to Undermine FOIA
"Nearly 40 years after it opened up government records to public scrutiny, the Freedom of Information Act needs reworking to ensure the flow of information is not blocked by reluctant bureaucrats or an overly secretive government, a House panel was told Wednesday. Media witnesses joined lawmakers in saying that there was a growing tendency for FOIA requests to go unanswered for months or years, be rejected, or come back redacted with large areas blacked out."

New Disclosure log

The disclosure log for the British Library has been added to the index.

Campaign for Freedom of Information courses

Getting to grips with the Freedom of Information Act -practical training courses for users. The next course will take place on Wednesday 13 July 2005 from 9.30 am - 1.30 pm at the St. Alban's Centre, Baldwins Gardens, London EC1.

The Campaign for Freedom of Information, which played a leading part in securing the legislation, is running training courses to help serious users learn to make effective use of this important but complex new legislation.

The courses will provide a working guide to the Act, including:

* using the FOI Act to challenge decisions or uncover stories
* lessons learnt from the Act's first 3 months
* cracking the first secret - what's in the files?
* how to draft an effective request
* potential pitfalls and how to avoid them
* navigating your way round the exemptions
* using the Act's most powerful feature - the public interest test
* the role of the FOI officer - your new friend in government?
* why an authority that obstructs you is breaking the law
* challenging refusals and enforcing your rights

More information

Article 19 Reports on Freedom of Information in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia

From freedominfo.org
A report from London-based NGO Article 19 on freedom of information legislation and its impact on the news media in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, finds that problems with implementation, state secrets legislation, and a Soviet-style predilection for excessive secrecy have created "the environment for arbitrary refusals, manipulation of information, and, in extreme cases, even release of false information by officials.

HM Treasury disclosure

From the HMT website disclosure log. The comment I would make is that the prompt release of the this information to the web is excellent but more background about the release is required: the reason for redacting the document is not explained here nor is the volume of redaction (though more explanantion could be in a unpublished letter sent with the documents). I would therefore also encourage the release of all the documents sent out including letters (any applicant data could be redacted).

Subject: The predicted and actual impact of A8 migration on the UK economy

Date of disclosure: Tuesday 10 May 2005

Request:

I write to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act for information held by the Treasury relating to the migration of nationals of the countries which joined the European Union on May 1 2004 (the A8 countries) to the United Kingdom. The information we seek is as follows:

List the documents relating to the predicted impact of A8 migrants on the UK economy.

List the documents relating to the actual impact of A8 migrants on the UK economy.

All documents on the predicted impact of A8 migrants on the UK economy.

All documents on the actual impact of A8 migrants on the UK economy.

Disclosure:

Extract of information contained in a Foreign and Commonwealth Office document held by HM Treasury

Media roundup

Daily Telegraph 10th May - Our lips are sealed
"The IFA Defence Union, which featured here last Saturday, has got a reply to its letter to the Financial Services Authority. Under the Freedom of Information Act it asked whether the FSA had a list of employees who were freemasons and if not, whether it intended to compile one. "Following a search of our paper and electronic records," says Sherine Malko, "I can tell you that we do not hold the information you requested. The Act does not oblige us to explain why we do not". So there."

Independent 10th May - Lord Puttnam: 'I should have been smarter'
"Material obtained under the Freedom of Information Act earlier this year showed that there had been extensive lobbying by national newspaper groups, including News International, on the new cross-media ownership rules. Murdoch and his executives have consistently said they have no interest in buying Five."

Transparency International- Malaysia- Freedom of Information Act sought by human rights groups
"On World Press Freedom Day that fell on May 3, Parliamentary Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang announced that his office would convene a conference next month inviting all MPs, political parties, mass media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to formulate a concerted, nationwide campaign to demand a Freedom of Information Act."

Guardian 9th May - How Wham! baffled Chinese youth in first pop concert
"A British embassy report - released to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act - described the cultural confusion on the day that pop came to Beijing."

Media roundup

Daily Telegraph 10th May - Our lips are sealed
"The IFA Defence Union, which featured here last Saturday, has got a reply to its letter to the Financial Services Authority. Under the Freedom of Information Act it asked whether the FSA had a list of employees who were freemasons and if not, whether it intended to compile one. "Following a search of our paper and electronic records," says Sherine Malko, "I can tell you that we do not hold the information you requested. The Act does not oblige us to explain why we do not". So there."

Independent 10th May - Lord Puttnam: 'I should have been smarter'
"Material obtained under the Freedom of Information Act earlier this year showed that there had been extensive lobbying by national newspaper groups, including News International, on the new cross-media ownership rules. Murdoch and his executives have consistently said they have no interest in buying Five."

Transparency International- Malaysia- Freedom of Information Act sought by human rights groups
"On World Press Freedom Day that fell on May 3, Parliamentary Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang announced that his office would convene a conference next month inviting all MPs, political parties, mass media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to formulate a concerted, nationwide campaign to demand a Freedom of Information Act."

Guardian 9th May - How Wham! baffled Chinese youth in first pop concert
"A British embassy report - released to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act - described the cultural confusion on the day that pop came to Beijing."

FOIA Blog developments

I've registered a new web address for the blog: you can now access using www.foia.org.uk, the old address at foia.blogspot.com will still work if you have any bookmarks etc

I'm looking at adding some improvements to the blog over the summer, making some of the features more professional and adding some new ones. I've become frustrated with the blogger platform and may be moving to a newer system. In particular I'm looking to improve the categorisation of archived posts to allow better browsing. Let me know what you think- Are there any improvements you would like to see? email me at steve_wood62@hotmail.com

Media Roundup

Sunday Herald 8th May -Before you book be your own food inspector
"A number of councils are preparing to place confidential inspection reports on their websites. Glasgow City Council is likely to be the first in the UK to publish findings, with hygiene and food safety standards available within months."

Sunderland today-Tide of violence for hospital staff
"Doctors, nurses and other NHS staff have been subjected to vicious beatings with weapons including nunchucks – a kind of martial arts weapon – and knives in the last year, according to City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust. Figures released today under the Freedom of Information Act show 338 assaults were carried out on staff – the highest in the North East."

West Cumberland Times & Star 7th May-Council collects £500k parking fines in a year
"ALLERDALE council collected more than £500,000 in parking fines last year. The authority raised £522,095 after issuing 18,652 parking tickets in the borough, with the area’s tourist and shopping hotspots hit hardest. The council released the figures after the Times & Star requested to see them under the new Freedom of Information Act."

Cambridge Evening News - Public inquiry costs hit £2.2m
"THE public inquiry into the Guided Bus plan has cost Cambridgeshire taxpayers a whopping £2.2 million, the News can reveal. The inquiry was held last year and involved a team of experts, lawyers and Cambridgeshire County Council staff who were trying to convince a Government inspector to give the go-ahead for the controversial scheme. Since then, under new Freedom of Information rules a member of the anti-guided bus group Cast.Iron has put in a request for the cost of the inquiry. The county council has been forced to reveal the amounts it paid to top solicitors, transport experts and advisers at the inquiry, which lasted for several months."

ICBerkshire - Information overload takes its toll on schools
"A SOUTHCOTE headteacher says schools could struggle to cope with the burden placed on them by the Freedom of Information Act unless they are given extra resources. Paul Barras, head of Blessed Hugh Faringdon School, says he supports the act, which is designed to make public bodies more open and accountable. But the 52-year-old Burghfield headteacher, says requests are already arriving at the Fawley Road school and there is still some confusion as to what is reasonable and how much time to spend on each one."

USA FOI - New York

From Gov tech
"On Tuesday, New York Governor George E. Pataki announced that he has signed legislation into law that will strengthen New York State's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). The new law sets specific new timeframe requirements that will provide clarity and guidance to local governments and State agencies and make the Freedom of Information Law even stronger"

"The current Freedom of Information Law provides that a government body must respond in writing to a FOIL request in five business days and either provide the requested documents, deny the request, or estimate a time for when a response will be made."

"Under the new law signed by the Governor today, agencies must provide an approximate date that is reasonable under the circumstances. If an agency determines that it will be granting a FOIL request -- but is unable to provide the records within 20 business days after sending an initial acknowledgement letter -- the agency must state in writing the reason(s) it cannot grant the request within the 20 days and provide a specific date when the request will be granted. If an agency fails to abide by these new requirements, the request will be deemed denied and the requestor will have the right to appeal under the current FOIL."

Local Government (Access to Information)(Variation)(Wales)

The draft order entitled Local Government (Access to Information)(Variation)(Wales) which will amend Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 with respect to "principal council" in Wales is now on the Welsh Assembly website.

Thanks to Sion for alerting me

Media roundup

Holdthefrontpage - Evening Press uncovers 'stealth tax' on motorists
"The Evening Press in York has revealed how a local council is making up £20,000 a day from parking charges and tickets, after conducting an investigation using the Freedom of Information Act"

Guardian 6th May - Terror fears draw veil over nuclear plants
"Information about nuclear power stations, including safety issues and potential hazards, will be concealed from the public under guidelines drawn up by the government because of terrorism fears"

Guardian 4th May - Hell's kitchens: how top restaurants fell foul of the health inspectors
"Health inspectors have voiced criticisms of some of Britain's most prestigious restaurants in confidential reports obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act"

Act 'being vigorously tested', says Scottish Information Commissioner

From e-gov monitor:
"The Scottish Information Commissioner's Office said on 5 May that it was on course to receive "far more" requests to review FOI decisions than the 200 to 400 originally anticipated within the first year of the Act coming fully into force"

Further details: Scottish Information Commissioner's website.

Freedom of Information - The Emerging Story

Article by Timothy Pitt-Payne, 11 King’s Bench Walk Chambers
read at 11kbw.com Interesting overview of FOI so far. Some relevant observations of interest on interactions with other legislation. Suggests that under the Audit Commission Act 1998 (ACA 1998) "section 15 appears anomalous in the light of FOIA 2000 and ought to be reconsidered. Any significant amendment would, however, require primary legislation"

Third Annual Information Conference for the Public Sector: FOI Live 2005

The Constitution Unit, the Information Commissioners Office and the Department of Constitutional Affairs invite you to the Third Annual Information Conference for the Public Sector: FOI Live 2005. The conference will take place on Thursday, 16 June at the Victoria Park Plaza, London from 9.00am to 6.15pm.

The programme includes a list of outstanding speakers and interactive seminars. Richard Thomas, Information Commissioner, Andrew McDonald, Constitution Director of DCA, and Marie Shroff, New Zealands Privacy Commissioner, will address delegates in the morning. Following the mornings speakers will be a panel of two central government department representatives and two FOI requesters who will give their perspectives on the experiences of making and responding to requests. In the afternoon, a choice of topic-specific seminars will be led by experts from the Constitution Unit, DCA and ICO, followed by a wrap-up panel session and early evening lecture by Lord Falconer.

There are only six weeks left to register so book soon! For more information about the conference and to reserve your place, please visit
https://www.involve-me-secure.com/foilive2005/default.asp
or contact:

Michael Hanton
FOI Event Coordinator
Complete Support Group
Email: foi@completesupport.co.uk
Tel: 0121 776 7766
Fax: 0121 776 7666

Irish Information Commissioner's website

The following updates have been added:

-Address by the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner,Ms Emily O'Reilly, at the Annual Conference of Assistant Secretaries, 3 March 2005

-Ist Annual COLICO (Committee on Library Co-operation in Ireland) Lecture

Letter Decisions

Case 030847- Parents for Justice and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children

Case 030830 - Parents for Justice and the National Maternity Hospital

Case 020353 - Mr. X and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Case 010147 - Mr X and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Council Of Europe Urged to Adopt Access to Information Treaty

Taken from the Open Society Justice Initiative website:

April 13, 2005 — Sixteen European civil society organizations joined the Justice Initiative yesterday in calling on the Council of Europe to adopt a new binding instrument entrenching the right to access information throughout Europe. The text of the letter follows.

Ambassador Constantin Yerocostopoulos
Permanent Representative of Greece and Chair of the GR-H
Council of Europe
Strasbourg, France

Your Excellency

We understand that the Rapporteur Group on Human Rights (GH-R) of the Committee of Ministers will discuss at its meeting on Wednesday April 13 the possibility of developing a binding treaty on the right of access to information based on Council of Europe Recommendation 2002(2) on Access to Official Documents.

The Open Society Justice Initiative and the undersigned civil society organizations that work to promote freedom of information respectfully call on the GH-R to endorse the development of a binding instrument. We are convinced that such an instrument would advance respect for the right of access to information in line with the mandate of the Council of Europe to foster the further realization of human rights. We note that Recommendation 2002(2) has made a positive contribution to the development of laws on access to information across the Council of Europe region and beyond, and has become a key reference text for civil society and government actors.

If a binding instrument is to be developed, we urge that it reflect the highest standards contained in national freedom of information laws in Council of Europe member states and that it support best practices in implementation. The treaty should therefore establish that the right of access to information is a right for all persons to access information held by all public bodies, including the judicial and legislative branches, and including those performing public functions and operating with public funds, subject only to limited exemptions balanced by a public interest test.

We call on the Council of Europe, through the GH-R, to engage in discussion with civil society representatives before taking a final decision concerning such a treaty, and during the drafting of a treaty should the decision be to go ahead. We are ready to offer our support in the process of developing such a binding instrument.

Yours sincerely

James Goldston

For and on behalf of:

Article19 (London)
Statewatch (London)
Centre for Development of Democratic Institutions, Albania
Armenian Freedom of Information Centre, Armenia
Access to Information Programme, Bulgaria
Coalition "Javnost Ima Pravo Znati" (Public Right to Know), Croatia
Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Georgia
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Hungary
Pro Media, Macedonia
Centre for Independent Journalism, Romania
Coalition on Free Access to Information (14 members), Serbia
Open Society Foundation-Bratislava, Slovakia
Citizen and Democracy Association, Slovakia
Sustentia, Spain
BilgiEdinmeHakki.Org, Turkey

The URL for this record is:
http://www.justiceinitiative.org/db/resource2?res_id=102667

FoI compliance - how are we coping?

Slides from the above Conference are available to download at:

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

log.htm

Disclosure logs

New logs added to the index for:

-Scotland Office
-Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen
-Communities Scotland

Media Roundup

ICSouthLondon 29th April - Council keeps grip on travel expenses
"OVERSEAS trips by Croydon councillors and officials in the last financial year cost the taxpayer just under £2,700.The figure provided to the Advertiser under the Freedom of Information Act comes after officers in other parts of the country were accused of junketing at the expense of council tax-payers."

Daily Telegraph 3rd May - Snail porridge restaurant acts swiftly over food bug menace
"Visitors to Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant delight in finding unusual dishes on the menu, including bacon and egg ice cream and snail porridge. Food and safety officers, however, were not so impressed when they discovered less palatable ingredients during an inspection of the three Michelin stars establishment in Bray, Berks. Mr Blumenthal: ‘We are fastidious about hygiene standards’ Documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show that they tested ballotine of foie gras, braised belly of pork and an ice cream mixture and found that three out of four samples were "unsatisfactory"."

Sunday Herald - Executive ‘compromised by big business secondments’
"Ministers have been accused of “corrupting the proper administration of government” by allowing staff from eight private companies to work within the Scottish Executive.....As a result there is an “unhealthy relationship” bet-ween business and government, the critics claim. The Executive was forced to reveal its close links with private firms in response to a request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act from the Green MSP, Chris Ballance."

The Herald 29th April - University warned it is losing reputation
"GLASGOW University must take urgent action to remedy recent damage to its reputation both at home and abroad, consultants have warned. Their report, commissioned by the university but made public under the Freedom of Information Act, also found complacency on campus over the problem, and said Glasgow could begin to fall behind its competitors."

Spy.org.uk - Home Office FOIA request for meeting diaries, agenda etc. of the Identity Cards Programme team - "further consideration is requred" after 20 working days

Medical News Today - BMA encourages GP practices to be open about quality data
"New guidance from the BMA's GPs Committee on the Freedom of Information Act advises practices to be open about data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) introduced with the new national contract. Withholding QOF data could be seen as detrimental to the profession"

Alton today - "FACED with a massive hike in parish precept, a Wield resident has asked for a public debate on the parish council’s tax-raising policies. But according to Andrew Marshall, his request for openness has been met by a closed door....But when pressed, under the Freedom of Information Act, about the link between the two bodies, the council, he said, refused to divulge any information which Mr Marshall found “surprising”.

Farnham today - Public passes no confidence vote on East St
"Drawing on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, he attempted to show that councillors’ suggestions for rephrasing some of the questions were brushed aside."

North Shropshire Chronicle - UFO was 'Russian rocket'
"A leading academic believes he has done something that top investigators at the Ministry of Defence couldn’t – explain the 1993 Shawbury UFO sighting. Since then the Freedom of Information Act MoD files on UFO sightings have been made public. And in an interview with the Chronicle earlier this year, the ministry’s officer responsible for the sightings Nick Pope, revealed an unexplained sighting in Shawbury was ‘one of the most sensational cases I ever investigated’. Now, Dr David Clarke, lecturer at Sheffield University’s school of English, believes he can prove the sightings were simply a Russian rocket re-entering the earth’s atmosphere."

US FOI

LA Times - Photos of dead released
"Reversing a policy under fire, the Pentagon released photographs Thursday of flag-draped caskets bearing American soldiers killed in combat. The pictures, taken by military photographers, were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by Ralph J. Begleiter, a University of Delaware professor and former CNN correspondent, who sought all photos of the caskets of soldiers who died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since October 2001."

fcw.com - Proponent of open government: McDermott: Feds closing the door to information
"Besides producing her newsletters, she will be busy on Capitol Hill promoting access to government information. She will be watching two bills dealing with government secrecy. One is the Open Government Act, sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The bill would require federal agencies to create electronic databases for tracking the status of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act. The other is a bill to repeal an executive order that President Bush issued in November 2001 that substantially undercut the Presidential Records Act of 1978. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has said he will introduce such a bill this year."

SOCTIM FOI guide

The Society for Information Techology Management (SOCTIM) have produced a guide on FOI as part of their essential e-government series (PFF)