News, views and updates on the UK Freedom of Information Act, worldwide Freedom of Information and open government. Maintained by Steve Wood, Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University. As featured on BBC News and the Guardian. www.foia.org.uk. Winner of "best blog" at the 2005 International Information Industry Awards.
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USA FOIA updates
Campaign for Freedom of Information Press release:
New information charging rules would “reverse openness trend”
The Campaign for Freedom of Information reacted with concern to reports that the government is considering measures to reduce the amount of information disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act.
At the moment FOI requests are normally answered free of charge, apart from photocopying costs. Government departments can refuse to answer a request if it would cost more than £600 to find the information and other authorities can refuse if that cost exceeds £450. This corresponds to 24 hours of staff time for government departments and 18 hours for other bodies.The government is now considering making it easier to refuse FOI requests on cost grounds.
According to reports of a leaked cabinet document, authorities would be allowed to take into account the time officials spend considering whether to release information as well as the time they spend looking for it. This means that the cost limit would be reached more quickly and more requests would be refused on cost grounds - even if the information itself was not exempt.
The Campaign's director, Maurice Frankel, said:
“These proposals would make it harder for requesters to ask penetrating questions and easier for authorities to avoid scrutiny. As the Act begins to bite we have finally begun to see some weakening of the traditional obstacles to openness. The last thing we need is to reverse this process by giving authorities better armour to defend themselves against requests. Instead of making it easier to refuse requests, government should be encouraging authorities to become more open by publishing more information without being asked, handling requests more expertly and organising their records more efficiently.”
The leaked document, reported in this week's Sunday Times says that at least 17% of requests which are now being dealt with would be refused on cost grounds in future. Official statistics show that some 800 requests to government departments were refused on cost grounds during 2005. The Campaign said that if the new proposals had been in force more than three times that number, more than 2,600 requests, would have been refused.
The Sunday Times: Government U-turn on free information
MINISTERS are to perform a U-turn on their commitment to open government by seeking to reduce the amount of information released to the public.
A confidential cabinet paper reveals that 18 months after Labour introduced laws allowing free access to government documents, it wants to block “the most difficult requests......He is also considering introducing a flat rate fee for requests, which he argues will have a “deterrent effect” and “inhibit serial requesters”. He estimates this would cut information requests by a third.
In a memo on July 17, Falconer admits that the government will come under fire for the moves. ....To counter critics, he is to commission a cost-benefit analysis of the effect that a fees regime would have. He argues that this will give a “solid evidence base” to make changes after the summer recess.
A Department for Constitutional Affairs spokeswoman said: "We said we would review fees and a proper review covers everything.
"However, it is unlikely that there will be a flat rate for Freedom of Information requests."
Lord Falconer said the government was "not keen" to stop people obtaining information that could embarrass the government.
"What you find is that some requests ask for a list of files, then say 'could you disclose all of the files', unaware of what's in them and simply keen to have a fishing exercise," he told the BBC's News 24 Sunday programme.
Seminar: A New Open Europe: public access to documents and data protection
Holidaymaker wins right to information on Legionnaire’s disease
The Information Commissioner has ordered the Health Protection Agency to release information relating to an investigation into a reported case of Legionnaire’s disease at a hotel in Malta.
The Commissioner’s decision follows a request to the Health Protection Agency from a holidaymaker who contracted Legionnaire’s disease during a holiday at a hotel in Buggiba, Malta in June 2004. The individual requested the results of the Maltese investigation into the Legionella outbreak at the hotel and also the results of a previous investigation that took place in the same year at the same hotel, in order to support an insurance claim for compensation.
The Health Protection Agency refused the request on the grounds that the information was provided in confidence. Following a review under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) the Information Commissioner ordered the information to be made public.
Under the EIRs, information relating to emissions released into the environment must, in most cases, be made available to the public. This case is the first time that the emissions clause in the EIRs has been applied by the Commissioner in a formal decision.
In his ruling, the Commissioner stated that access to information about the presence of infections would enable individuals to protect themselves from risks to their health and wellbeing. Revealing a hotel’s history of the incidence of diseases would also allow holidaymakers to make an informed choice about where to stay during their holidays.
The United Kingdom is one of 35 countries which make up a network committed to the control and surveillance of disease within the European Community. The Environmental Information Regulations are underpinned by an EC Directive which binds most of the countries within the network, including Malta.
The Health Protection Agency has 35 days to provide the individual with the requested information
Review of the implementation of the Human Rights Act
New Statesman New Media Awards
DCA publish information about the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
Campaign for FOI publishes summary of 500 stories
Record 18-month FoI request delay incenses Sunday Telegraph reporter
The Home Office has just set a new record for tardiness in answering a Freedom of Information Act request — 18 months.
The unlucky journalist on the receiving end of the department's delays was Sunday Telegraph home affairs correspondent Ben Leapman.
The news value of the information he requested about the security lapses at Woodhill Prison — where Soham murderer Ian Huntley is caged — has now greatly reduced
New Media Awards
Offical Secrets Trial Judge rules that al-Jazeera memo should be kept secret
Information Tribunal decisions
Media update
Cluster of ICO decisions relating legality of war in Iraq
New discussion forum on FOI
Information Commissioner's Office annual report
-The limited extra funding we secured from the Department for Constitutional Affairs for 2006-07 is not as much as we believe we need, but it is helping us to reduce the number of outstanding cases more quickly.
-Mirroring our effective regulatory approach in data protection, we will take a more robust approach toward the small number of public authorities that repeatedly fail to meet acceptable timescales. There are particular problems where time is taken to consider public interest considerations or carry out an internal review. A maximum of two months for each stage should be quite long enough in most cases. Where my office finds systemic non-compliance with the Act, I will be more ready to use my powers to serve Enforcement Notices and Practice Recommendations to ensure public authorities fulfil their obligations. We will be tougher with authorities who unnecessarily delay people’s requests.
Guidance on handling persistent requestors and frivolous requests
However, it is also true, inevitably, that this culture is being undermined by requests under the Act which arguably do not impact so positively - like what a central government department spends on toilet paper or make-up, or whether written proof can be provided under the Act of a Minister's existence.
Responsible users of the Act and supporters of the legislation would surely agree that these sorts of requests are frivolous, and sometimes even vexatious, and that spending time answering them is not how public resources ought to be used.......
My department will be issuing guidance complementing that from the Information Commissioner, to help public authorities handle these types of requests
Information Rights User Group
We have established a panel of users to act as a sounding-board on how the Act is working in practice, and to inform the Government about their experiences of the Act.
The group will be provided with information on the operation of the Act and will be invited to provide feedback to us, which will help us ensure that FOI meets users’ needs properly and effectively. Overseas experience has demonstrated that sustained and committed effort devoted to fostering an active and widespread FOI constituency amongst users helps to promote the long-term success of the Act.
The group is chaired by Baroness Ashton of Upholland, and the members of the group are:
Steve Bailey JISC, University of Bristol
Jane Bacot-Kilpatrick Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority
Paul Bettison Leader Bracknell Forest Borough Council
Peter Bottomley, MP
Judith Cullen Head of Environmental Information Unit, DEFRA
Maurice Frankel Campaign for Freedom of Information
Professor Robert Hazell University College London Constitution Unit
John Hipwood Chairman of the Press Lobby
Rosemary Jay Pinsent Masons
Anthony Kenny Intellect UK
Lord Lester of Herne Hill
Adrian Pollitt Head of the Office of Strategic Health Authorities
Ian Readhead Deputy Chief Constable, Hampshire Constabulary
Bob Satchwell Society of Editors
Richard Thomas (observer) Information Commissioner
Google trends - Inverness are top FOI searchers
UNDP Seminar Spotlights Complexity of Expanding Right to Know
al-Jazeera memo - update on my FOI requests
Media update
Latest decisions from the Information Commissioner's Office
Freedom of Information at the Investigative Journalism Summer School
Act Now Information Law newsletter
FOI and Open Government books
Craig Murray documents - FCO threatens injuction
Home Office: clearing house response times
In response to a FOI request, Home Office has provided a tabulation of time required for DCA's Clearing House to review cases sent to it by Home Office.
See http://foi.wikispaces.com/UK
This is a very small window into Clearing House operations, but it is also the first time that a department has not relied on section 36 to avoid disclosure of such information
Latest decision notices
Fears loom over costs review for info requests
But ministers have signalled they may reform fees, fearing too many requests are wasteful of public money - two examples being a request for the number of windows in government departments and the costs of toilet rolls.
Many public officials appear to share these concerns, as responses to the BBC's Have Your Say debate showed.
However, requests dropped by nearly 70% when the Republic of Ireland introduced a 15 Euro fee.
This is a balancing act. Taxpayers don't want to see public money wasted - but there is a fundamental right to ask questions and receive answers of public bodies in a democracy.
Whether these questions are "suitable" is subjective - the request for information about toilet rolls could have been made by a company undertaking serious research for a contract tender.
These concerns need to be put in context. Firstly, the Act says requests can be blocked if they are judged "repeated and vexatious".
Secondly, estimates for the cost of FOIA currently hit £100m. In contrast, the government spent £158m on advertising in 2004.
Over the coming year, the public will need to think about the true cost of Freedom of Information.
In the US, military officials once complained that Freedom of Information was a costly business. That was until they were told that it was still less than the cost of maintaining the military's golf courses.
A Robust Approach to FOI Complaint Cases
In essence, our new approach is not to take up, or continue with, any FoI or EIR case where no useful purpose would be served if we were to proceed to an adverse Decision Notice. Such cases will be closed, or resolved in other ways if they appear to raise enforcement or similar issues.
If any complainant tries to insist that we should proceed, we should not enter lengthy correspondence. Some such cases many need to be reviewed within our complaints procedure. Others should be advised that they can challenge the Commissioner by seeking a Judicial Review of the ruling through the courts. (It may indeed be very helpful to have such a case in due course).
Cost of publicising the Freedom of Information Act
Information released:
Information about the different ways that the FOI act was publicised including the ways in which understanding was raised and the cost of raising awareness about it to the point that the Act came into force
Compliance with the Section 46 Code
"The Information Commissioner will promote the observance of the Code by public authorities, acting as required by the FOIA. If it appears to the Commissioner that the practice of an authority in relation to the exercise of its functions under the FOIA does not conform with that set out in the Code, he may issue a practice recommendation under section 48 of the Act. A practice recommendation must be in writing and must specify the provisions of the Code which have not been met and the steps which should, in his opinion, be taken to promote conformity with Code."I've highlighted in my Select Committe evidence that the ICO had not issued any S48 recommendations - perhaps this may change soon once the assessments have taken place.
Your righths under the Audit Commission Act 1998
68 Countries now have Access Laws
New Disclosure logs
UNDP's Information Disclosure
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has written to the United Nations
Development Programme, asking that it complete the processing of a request
for information received exactly two years ago.
The UNDP's Information Disclosure Policy, adopted in 1997, is widely
regarded as a model scheme for international organizations. But the policy
is largely inoperative. A request for information which I made in June 2004
has been before the UNDP's Oversight Panel, a body established to enforce
the Policy, since August 2004. The Panel has never rendered a decision
under the UNDP Disclosure Policy.
The free-expression group ARTICLE 19 also urged the UNDP to complete its
processing of this request in a February 2006 letter. The Bank Information
Center USA did the same in a May 2006 letter.
In April 2006, the UNDP issued a report that said it could "play an
important role in promoting right to information in a number of ways,"
inclluding compliance with its own disclosure policy.
Copies of the initial request, letters of support, and the UNDP report, can
be found at http://foi.wikispaces.com
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