Next blog posts

Next blog update will be 5th July (apologies for gap in service)

Campaign for FOI

The Campaign has issued a press release commenting on the first official freedom of information statistics which highlight unacceptable delays in responding to requests by some government departments.

Comments on decision notices

Public Partners have made some brief comments on the recently released decision notices on their website

New Freedom of Information Act threatens confidentiality

article from Managing Intellectual Property:
"An example of the court permitting disclosure of information in breach of an express confidentiality undertaking arose in London Regional Transport v Mayor of London [2003] EMLR 4. The Court of Appeal approved the first instance decision that public interest in the political debate surrounding PPP plans for the Underground justified disclosure of a report, even if such disclosure was in breach of confidentiality undertakings."

Data protection case goes to the House of Lords

Outlaw.com:

"Michael Durant, who lost a landmark ruling on the meaning of "personal data," is petitioning the House of Lords. He hopes it will agree to hear his appeal against the Court of Appeal's narrow interpretation of the definition found in the Data Protection Act."

Ireland FOI

Draft Freedom of Information Code of Practice North South Implementation Bodies and Tourism Ireland Ltd
Download Code (PDF)

"Over the coming 16 weeks, the public can comment on the Draft Freedom of Information Code of Practice, which was launched jointly today by Brian Cowen TD, Minister for Finance and Jeff Rooker, Minister at the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM), each of whom have responsibility for Freedom of Information in their respective jurisdictions."

The six North South Implementation Bodies are:

The Food Safety Promotion Board
Inter-Trade Ireland
The Language Body which has two Agencies:
(i)Foras na Gaeilge; and
(ii)The Ulster-Scots Agency
The Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission
The Special European Programmes Body (SEUPB)
Waterways Ireland

2. Tourism is taken forward by Tourism Ireland Ltd, a publicly owned company

The Code does contain some interesting differences to the FOIA 2000, I've listed then below:

-13.2 In the case of a request for a significant volume of information
and/or a request where consultation with a third party is required
under this Code a decision on a request for information should be
issued in writing to the applicant not later than 35 working days
from the date the request was received.

-13.3 An acknowledgement of a request under Section 12 should
issue within 10 working days of receipt of the request. An
acknowledgement should state that an application is being dealt
with in accordance with this Code and advise the applicant of the
provisions of the Code.

-13.4 Where a Body extends the period of time for a decision under
this section from 20 to 35 working days, a notice informing the
applicant of such extension should be issued not later than 20
working days after the date of receipt of the request.

-16.1 An applicant may within 20 working days of receiving a
decision under section 13 apply to a relevant Body for a review of
a decision

-16.2 A review under this section should be undertaken by a
member of staff of more senior rank than the person who made the
original decision on the request

Exemptions (all subject to PI test)
-3. Personal information - deceased persons
Personal information relating to a deceased person.

US FOIA

Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government Information Removed from the Internet be Reclaimed? article by Susan Mart, University of California
Read here (Social Science Research Network)

New book on FOI and privacy in Australia

Freedom of Information and Privacy in Australia: Government and Information Access in the Modern State by Moira Paterson. More information

Hope to have a review in Open Government later this year

Re-use Regs - SI laid in Parliament

The reuse regs have now been passed (laid 10th June, in force 1st July)

Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 1515
The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005
Full text

Also published
Procedures for investigating complaints arising under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005
Download as Word Document

More info at the Office of Public Sector Information Website

New Disclosure logs

New logs added to the index:

-Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority
-Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority

(Thanks to Sue for these)

Media Roundup

Daily Mail - How a chat at Chequers was followed by Cherie's first TV interview
"Absent from the guest lists, published this weekend under the Freedom of Information Act, are heavyweights such as Jeremy Paxman and John Humphrys."

Scotsman - Paramedic stress puts strain on emergencies
"Figures supplied to Scotland on Sunday under the Freedom of Information Act show ambulance staff took more than 3,700 days off due to stress last year."

Scotsman - Complaints made by tourists a cause for concern
"Details of complaints received by VisitScotland, released under the Freedom of Information Act, showed an embarrassing series of experiences of shoddy service suffered by visitors."

Independent - Central government 'still obstructive' over FOI
"Britain's new Freedom of Information Act has failed to change Whitehall's entrenched culture of secrecy and open up government to public scrutiny, it emerged last night."

Shropshire Star - Phone masts shock for county
"Using the new Freedom of Information Act, we asked every council in the area where mobile phone masts are situated."

Publicnet - CONSULTATION ON COUNCILLORS' CONDUCT CODE ENDS TODAY
"Consulation ends today on the review of the code of conduct for English local councillors to bring it into line with the Freedom of Information Act, introduced at the start of the year. The Standards Board for England has been seeking views on a number of issues, including 'whistleblowing'

OECD report on Open Government

"Effective open government: improving public access to government information"

Published by OECD Public governance and territorial development directorate
Public governance committee
(Written by Dave Banisar, Privacy International)

Word | PDF

Falconer attacks culture of secrecy

"THE LORD Chancellor will mount a strong attack today on the “culture of secrecy” in Whitehall as he announces that up to 200 laws are to be repealed to let more information be released. Lord Falconer of Thoroton will say that since the Freedom of Information Act was introduced on January 1, the Government has disclosed 10,000 pieces of information."

From The Times

From the DCA website:

Freedom of Information: Review of Statutory Prohibitions on Disclosure [PDF 220kb]
Report on the government’s review of statutory prohibitions on disclosure. This report sets out all the enactments which have been reviewed and indicates whether the government intends to repeal or amend them using powers in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Accessible version of report in two parts to download more quickly:

Full report - part 1 [PDF 192kb]
Full report - part 2 [PDF 232kb]

Pre order Blacked out

You can now pre-order "Blacked Out: Government Secrecy in the Information Age" by
Alasdair Roberts on Amazon

Decision Notices full text

Heather Brooke has received full text of the notices via an FOI request, she has posted online on her YRTK site. Heather has also received a spreadsheet listing all the complaints received (-names of public authorities, these will apparently follow)

Decision notices

The first decision notices produced by the Information Commissioner have been published on the IC website (not before time!). This is the first chance practitioners have to see the emerging case law on the Freedom of Information Act, learn about some of the early mistakes made and users have the chance to see how their complaints will be handled.

For newcomers to the Act Read section 50 to learn more about the powers of the Information Commissioner

The notices served are to a mix of authorities, mostly in local government, only the Inland Revenue is the authority connected with central government. If is difficult to say whether the lack of central government cases is an indication - but the memorandum set up between the IC and Central Government may be leading to a less public "pre-decision notice" system building up. It may also be that the Clearing house for Central Government is heading off some problems before they emerge.

The cases that have been upheld mainly relate to S17 notices that do not clearly explain to applicants or breaches of the 20 day limit with no interim communication.

The IC website is rather hard to follow and the presentation of the notices could be easier. You also only see a summary and have to email to see the full notice - this seems strange - why not publish the full copy?

UK Web archive

I'm pleased to say that this website has been invited for inclusion on the UK web archive: (read more at http://info.webarchive.org.uk/.) This will mean there will be a record of this site for the longer term, which I hope will be useful to the history of FOI in the UK

Steve

New disclosure logs

New logs added to the index:

-Bonavancantia
-Food Standards Agency
-Health and Safety Executive
-Durham and Chester-Le-Street NHS PCT

Media roundup

The Rundown - How open are British universities?
"Research conducted by The Rundown has revealed that most British universities have embraced the principles of the Freedom of Information Act and published details of how to request information online."

Guardian - Police 'prejudged' Deepcut inquiry
"The Independent Police Complaints Commission is looking into the actions of officers in Surrey after the father of one of the soldiers brought it new evidence which he had uncovered under the Freedom of Information Act."

Personnel Today - Transport for London spends £1m a year on drinks for staff
"The body responsible for the Tube, buses and congestion charge disclosed the perks after the London Evening Standard used the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) to discover how much public authorities spend on food and drink. "

Gloucestershire Echo - Restaurants face threat of closure
"Nine out of 10 restaurants in Cheltenham were told to clean up their act by health inspectors last year. Environmental health bosses say the figures, released today under the new Freedom of Information Act, are alarming. They insist cafe and restaurant owners must do more to improve food hygiene."

New IC guidance note

Technical guidance note has been added: "Freedom of Information: access to information about public authorities’ employees."
IC website

Media Roundup

Barnet Times - Private papers ‘blowing in the wind’
"Barnet Council has promised to revise the way it disposes of confidential documents after reams of private benefits records were found near the North Circular Road."

Daily Telegraph - Doctors in denial over problem of drink, says BMA chief
"More than 700 doctors or nurses have been disciplined for offences at work involving drugs or alcohol in the past 10 years, a BBC 1 programme says tonight.But the figures, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, may seriously under-represent the scale of the problem Real Story will say."

Sunday Herald - Holyrood secrecy over McLetchie expenses
"HOLYROOD officials are refusing to reveal full details of expenses claims lodged by Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie. They have blocked a request tabled by the Sunday Herald under freedom of information legislation that would reveal the destinations of many of the Pentlands MSP’s taxi claims."

Observer- Ministers' diaries stay secret as Falconer stalls again
"Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, was under fire this weekend for backsliding on a pledge to publish ministerial diaries under the government's new freedom of information legislation."

Independent - US regulator suppresses vital data on prescription drugs on sale in Britain
""As part of the Freedom of Information Act, the agency is required to make available its reports on all drugs that are approved. Unfortunately, these reports are not as useful as they could be,'' he and his team say in an editorial in the British Medical Journal"

BBC - Nuclear waste sites list revealed
"Five sites in Scotland which were considered for dumping nuclear waste, have been publicly unveiled for the first time. The list was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act after being kept under wraps for 20 years."

BBC - Tory nuclear waste sites revealed
"A list of 12 sites considered for storing nuclear waste by John Major's government has been released under the Freedom of Information Act."

Legal Week - Property & Planning: Land particulars
"The Freedom of Information Act spells opportunity for property companies. Under the legislation public authorities can be forced to disclose information about their plans to dispose of, or procure new land. Dan Tench outlines how the Act may be useful to the property sector."

Edgware Times - TfL’s North Circular plan challenged
"The 2004 Hyder report, which was commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) and released under the Freedom of Information Act this week, concluded that the £600 million North Circular scheme, which promised major improvements for road users, provided better value for money than the Mayor's smaller Bounds Green scheme."

Government Computing - LSE proposes ID lite
"The government would hold minimal personal data under the alternative ID scheme proposed by the LSE"

This is Money - Pernod in bid for OFT data
"PERNOD Ricard is using the Freedom of Information Act in an unprecedented attempt to force the Office of Fair Trading to release commercially sensitive data about a major competitor."

Plymouth Herald - Police staff ready to use new act as pay review row rumbles on
"Police staff at the centre of Devon and Cornwall Constabulary's failed pay review are trying to discover how the decision to cut wages was made. A group of around 60 workers are applying under the Freedom of Information Act for details of the controversial job evaluation plan."

Daily Telgraph - How Whitehall weighed Railtrack options
"Documents published on the Department for Transport's website in response to a Freedom of Information request show officials were asked to explore both options as far back as February 2001."

Dundee Courier - Executive may never reveal full cost of G8
"The public may never know the full cost of security and policing at the G8 summit at Gleneagles after Scottish ministers imposed an unprecedented gagging order on the event."

Egov monitor - Welsh Councils Not Exploiting IT for FOI
"Snapshot of Welsh local authorities' progress with FOI shows many are not automating."

International FOI developments

Germany
"An English comment o­n the Bundestag's decision to pass a Federal Freedom of Information Act plus some explanatory notes o­n why this is still not perfectly true. There is also an(unauthorised) English text version of the law. Changes from the December 14th version have been highlighted."
http://www.informationsfreiheit.info/de/blog/

Will the Senate (Bundesrat) stopp the law?:
http://home.online.no/~wkeim/files/0506bundesrat-en.htm

Israel
We are all still in the dark
Haaretz.com

Ireland
Ms Emily O'Reilly, Information Commissioner, launched her Annual Report for
2004 9th June 2004

The full text of the report, in both English and Irish, is available at
http://www.oic.gov.ie.

"On a year-on-year basis, the number of applications for review made to the Information Commissioner decreased by 61% in 2004. The total number of FOI requests made to all public bodies has also decreased in 2004. Speaking about the decline in usage, the Commissioner reiterated her belief that a review of the Act and fees should be undertaken. In particular, she stressed her concern about the high cost of appeals to her Office and the impact this has on the overall effectiveness of the legislation."

Clearing House

From Al Roberts: A list of cases referred by central government departments to the Department of Constitutional Affairs Clearing House up to June 1. It does not include
1500 cases referred to the Clearing House before implementation of its electronic Case Management System. The list was provided by the Clearing House in response to a FOIA request made on May 5, 2005.

More at: http://uk.foi.net

UK Web Archiving Consortium

A free, searchable online archive of social, historic and culturally
significant web sites, including those of public sector bodies, has gone
live, hosted by the UK Web Archiving Consortium (UKWAC -
http://www.webarchive.org.uk). The two-year project, launched last
year, is the first systematic attempt to create an archive of web-based
material from the UK.

Society of Archivists' Conference

From Parchment to Pictures to Pixels:
Preservation and Access in an Electronic Age
University of East Anglia, Norwich, 6-9 September 2005

More at : http://www.archives.org.uk

Whitehall says no to Freedom Act requests

Computer Weekly
Whitehall officials have refused requests under the Freedom of Information Act to publish the results of Gateway reviews on high-risk IT-related projects at the NHS, the Child Support Agency and on a national ID card scheme....In a 38-page reply to Computer Weekly's request for the results of some Gateway reviews to be published, the OGC said the process "demonstrably depends on candour and confidentiality"

FOI Archive

The Your Right to Know website outlines plans for a Freedom of Information Archive, and it's easy for you to help. Can you:

-contribute documents to the archive
-help make the organistion and website to run the archive
-or would just find the archive useful

I'm supporting this project would encourage people to get involved

See more at: http://www.yrtk.org/foiarchive/

Canada - FOI

Some interesting stories relating to the Federal Access to Information Act in Canada:

Canadian Newspaper Association - Public's Right to Know in Failing Health in Canada: CNA Access to Information Study Slams Bureaucracies that Block Requests
"For Canadians trying to get answers about how governments make decisions affecting their daily lives, odds are high that their requests for information will be denied. Success in accessing public information can depend on where you live, who you are, and how much money you are prepared to spend. That's among the findings of a national audit of Canada's freedom of information systems conducted by the Canadian Newspaper Association. The results were released today in 45 newspapers across Canada."

National Post - OTTAWA -- Canada's information watchdog says a "deep distrust" of the federal freedom-of-information law remains entrenched within government.
In his annual report tabled Monday, John Reid said he was especially disappointed with Parliament's frequent knee-jerk decisions that effectively water down the Access to Information Act.

Officer of the Information Commissioner of Canada Annual Report 2004-5

Cotler set to overhaul access act
The Liberal government will bring forward a draft bill in the fall that will overhaul the outdated federal Access to Information Act, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said yesterday.

Joint Records Storage Project for London Boroughs

From ALM London: "Emmerson Consulting has been appointed by the Association of London Government to explore the feasibility of joint records storage for London boroughs. This ambitious project will also assess the state of records management across the boroughs, and its final report will act as an advocacy document to lobby for improved records management provision."

FOI -Wales

New website, Freedom of Information Wales funded by the Society of Archivists Research Fund and CyMAL: Museums Archives Libraries, Wales. "This site is intended as a Community of Practice: a virtual space which provides the opportunity to share knowledge and to create a pool of common resources".

Sites inlcudes: FOI: The Impact on Local Authority Archive Services and other Public Bodies in Wales - a "State of the Nation report" (PDF)

Germany: Freedom of Information Act passed

The German national Freedom of Information Act was approved by the German Bundestag 3rd June. A short commentary is available in German. The English version will follow.

See: http://www.informationsfreiheit.info/de/blog/

Media Roundup

Daily Telegraph - Travellers are dodging council tax
"A council's claim that travellers at a controversial site were no more likely to dodge council tax than nearby village home owners has been disproved by figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act."

Lexis Nexis- Why media 'sceptical' of Freedom of Information Act's 'era of openness'
"Six months after the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) came in to force heralding a “new era of openness”. Keith Mathieson, a media law partner at City firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, discusses with Jon Robins how useful the legislation has been in allowing the press to access hitherto undisclosed information..."

Epsom Guardian - We’re not complacent on MRSA, say hospital
"BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Hospitals NHS Trust has defended its record for cases of the superbug MRSA at its Amersham and Wycombe hospitals. Figures acquired by the Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act revealed there have been 85 cases at the two sites since January 2002."

Borehamwood Times - NCP – just the ticket?
"Data obtained by the Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act revealed parking attendants are required to enforce regulations "strictly to the letter of the law".


East Anglian Daily Times - Hospital 'negligence' payouts revealed
"HOSPITALS in north Essex have paid out nearly £13million in just three years to settle clinical negligence claims, the EADT can reveal.Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that alleged blunders at hospitals in the area cost taxpayers an average of more than £4million a year."

Wales on Sunday - Storm rages over WDA junkets
"The Welsh Development Agency spent £143,499 of public money hosting businesses and politicians from November to April. The figures were released to Wales on Sunday under the Freedom of Information Act."

Sunday Herald - Files reveal nuclear waste dumping ‘shambles’
"According to secret government documents made public last week under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, two successive secretaries of state for Scotland, Malcolm Rifkind and Ian Lang, gave the go-ahead to controversial research on nuclear waste, despite doubts about the professionalism of the industry."

This is Devon - Police chief claimed £7,000 expenses
"Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Maria Wallis ran up expenses amounting to thousands of pounds last year, according to figures published for the first time yesterday."

This is South Wales - Parents call for report's release
"A Key report on the safety of Swansea Marina, close to where a 21-year-old died, is being kept secret. Swansea Council has blocked an attempt by the South Wales Evening Post to allow our readers to see what the report says.The Post used the new Freedom of Information Act to try to obtain a copy of the report by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa)."

Maghull & Aintree Star- Royal Mail refuses to disclose complaints
"ROYAL Mail has refused to reveal to the Maghull & Aintree Star exactly how many complaints they have received for the Maghull and Aintree area. Maghull & Aintree Star submitted a request to the company, under the Freedom of Information Act."

Kent Messenger - Parking charges
"PARKING charges have netted more than £4million for hospitals across Kent, according to figures obtained by the Kent Messenger Group." (thanks to Paul for this one)

Media Roundup

Press Gazette - NUJ boss hits out at BBC for ‘censoring’FoI documents
"Documents released by the BBC in response to the NUJ's Freedom of Information request for material relating to planned job cuts at the corporation have had "huge chunks" censored, the union has claimed."

Disclosure log

Added for UK Atomic Energy Authority

New FOI book

Coming out later this year:

Blacked Out
Government Secrecy in the Information Age
Alasdair Roberts
Cambridge University Press
Hardback (ISBN-10: 0521858704 | ISBN-13: 9780521858700)
more details

Alasdair Roberts is Associate Professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University. See his website at: www.foi.net

Will post pre order details when I get them

New discolure logs

Added to the index today:

-Thames valley Strategic Health Authority
-Dulwich Community Hospital
-North Dorset District Council
-Mid Sussex District Council
-Office of Rail Regulation

(thanks again to Stephen)

Media roundup

Sunday Mirror - Govt documents dumped in the street
"TOP-SECRET files from John Prescott's office revealing private details of Britain's most senior politicians have been found dumped on a grass verge."

Irish Times - Minister may act after ruling on schools
"Minister for Education Mary Hanafin is to examine how information in school-inspection reports can be made available more widely to parents after the Supreme Court yesterday ruled against their publication in The Irish Times. In a landmark ruling, the first involving the Freedom of Information Act, the Supreme Court said publication could lead to the compilation of school league tables."

RTE (Ireland) - Court overturns adoption records ruling
"The High Court has overturned a decision of the Information Commissioner directing a health board to disclose edited records to a woman relating to her adoption more than 40 years ago."

Politics.co.uk - Wilson's spy fears revealed
"Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson was afraid that Soviet spies were following him even whilst on holiday in the Scilly Isles. Downing Street documents newly released under Freedom of Information Act show that upon his return to Westminster in 1974 Mr Wilson demanded to know about any activity from Soviet spy vessels."

Egov monitor - Scottish Public Still Unsure Over FOI Rights
"But public knowledge of the Act is growing, says Information Commissioner. Around three-quarters of the Scottish public are now possibly aware of the Freedom of Information Act but confusion remains as to their rights under the new law, it has emerged."

Bath Chronicle - It's still a bit like trying to get blood out of a stone (letter)
"You are rightly concerned about the cost to us council tax payers of the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. In the same spirit of openness as the act itself, I can give readers a bit of detail about the three inquiries that I have initiated, all of the property services section - and of the outcomes."

Evening Star (Suffolk) - Technicality sets drink drivers free
"FOUR per cent of drink drivers caught over the legal limit in Suffolk this year have not been prosecuted, because of a technicality. Figures obtained by The Evening Star under the Freedom of Information Act, show over the past four years, 79 motorists arrested for drink driving have escaped punishment."

Scotsman - Documents show blood product risk was kept from haemophiliacs
" Frontline Scotland will also reveal that reports from the 1980s released under the Freedom of Information Act that found lower-than-expected standards in Scottish blood processing facilities. Since the 1970s haemophiliacs have been given a blood product, Factor VIII, to stop clotting. But as it was manufactured from thousands of donors, it carried a greater risk of infection."

Cambridge Evening News - Study called for on congestion charge
"The News put in a request to the council under the new Freedom of Information Act for the traffic forecast for Cambridge. t responded by saying its target was to have 170,000 vehicles going in and out of the city every day in 2011 - almost exactly the same figure as now."