tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52849112024-03-07T15:54:59.406+00:00UK Freedom of Information BlogNews and developments on Freedom of Information in the UK. This blog is run by the Campaign for Freedom of Information. It was established in May 2003 by Steve Wood, who ran it until the end of February 2007 when he took up the post of Assistant Commissioner at the Information Commissioner's Office.bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12648604880789903629noreply@blogger.comBlogger2175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-9985161314022361952013-11-11T10:16:00.000+00:002013-11-11T10:16:05.998+00:00FOI case law update - 28 November 2013The Campaign for Freedom of Information's next course on <i>'Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions - what do they mean in practice?'</i> is taking place in London on <b>28th November 2013</b>.<br />
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This course, now in its 8th year, aims to help experienced FOI practitioners and others with a good working knowledge of the FOI Act keep abreast of new developments in FOI case law. Its exact content is dependent on the decisions that have been issued during the previous six months, but typically covers issues such as: "fair" and "unfair" disclosures of personal data; the FOI/EIR borderline; the application of specific exemptions including those for breach of confidence, commercial interests and legal professional privilege; where the public interest line is being drawn; vexatious requests; and the cost limit, aggregating requests, advice & assistance and other administrative provisions.<br />
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The course is presented by Maurice Frankel, the Campaign's director, who has worked in the field for 29 years.<br />
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Further details <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foidecisions_nov2013.pdf">here</a>.Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-45604284311492548412013-10-30T00:03:00.000+00:002013-10-30T00:03:02.107+00:0076 organisations call on government to drop proposed FOI restrictions76 campaign groups, charities and press bodies have written to the prime minister urging him to drop proposals to restrict the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. They say the proposals are not compatible with the prime minister's stated aim of making the UK "the most open and transparent government in the world".<br />
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The letter coincides with an international summit on open government, hosted by the UK in London tomorrow (October 31). The event will be attended by government and civil society representatives from over 60 countries. Each government - including the UK - is expected to announce new commitments towards greater openness, drawn up in partnership with non-governmental organisations from their own countries.<br />
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However, in November 2012 the UK government announced that it was considering a series of proposals to make it easier for public authorities to refuse FOI requests on cost grounds. These proposals are still being considered.<br />
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The organisations say: <i>"We find it difficult to reconcile the ambition that the UK should be the world leader in openness with the government's proposals to restrict the FOI Act, which is a critical element of the UK's openness arrangements. Many requests of substantial public interest would be refused under these proposals regardless of the benefits of disclosure. We hope that the government will mark that commitment by announcing that it will not be bringing forward proposals to restrict the Act."</i><br />
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The joint letter, which has been co-ordinated by the Campaign for Freedom of Information, has also been signed by: Action against Medical Accidents, Action on Hearing Loss, Against Violence & Abuse, Animal Aid, Article 19, Big Brother Watch, British Humanist Association, British Institute of Human Rights, British Muslims for Secular Democracy, Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union, Broken Rainbow UK, BUAV, Campaign Against Arms Trade, Campaign for Better Transport, Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, Children are unbeatable! Alliance, Compact Voice, Corporate Responsibility Coalition, Corporate Watch, Crucible Centre for Human Rights Research, Daily Mail, Democratic Society, Equanomics-UK, Friends of the Earth, Friends Families and Travellers Community Base, Full Fact, Gender Identity Research and Education Society, Guardian News & Media, Heather Brooke, Inclusion London, Indigenous Peoples Links, Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust, International Records Management Trust, Involve, Jubilee Debt Campaign, JUST West Yorkshire, Law Centres Network, Law Society Gazette, League Against Cruel Sports, Leigh Day, Liberty, London Evening Standard Independent & Independent on Sunday, London Mining Network, Migrants' Rights Network, Mind, MySociety, National Secular Society, National Union of Journalists, Newspaper Society, OneKind, Open Democracy, Open Knowledge Foundation, Open Rights Group, OpenCorporates, People & Planet, Practical Participation, Press Gazette, Prisoners' Advice Service, Public Concern at Work, Public Interest Investigations, Public Interest Research Centre, Publish What You Fund, Race on the Agenda, Refugee Council, Republic, Request Initiative, Rights Watch (UK), RoadPeace, Save FOI, Society of Editors, Spinwatch, Taxpayers' Alliance, The Press in York, Transform Justice, Unlock Democracy and Women's Resource Centre.<br />
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Full press release <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/foi301013pr.html">here.</a>Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-15869180612296002692013-10-24T11:29:00.000+01:002013-10-24T11:29:07.981+01:00MPs call for extension of the FOI Act to cover contracted out public servicesAn Early Day Motion calling for the extension of the FOI Act to cover contracted out public services has been tabled by Labour MP Grahame Morris and co-sponsored by Caroline Lucas (Green), Mark Durkan (SDLP), John McDonnell (Lab), Margaret Ritchie (SDLP) and Peter Bottomley (Con):<br />
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That this House praises the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the transparency and openness it has brought to the public sector and the public right of access of information held by central and local government and its agencies; notes that public services delivered by private companies are currently beyond the scope of the 2000 Act; further notes that, as growing amounts of public services are privatised, ever decreasing amounts of public spend are subject to freedom of information; and supports calls to extend the legislation so that public services contracted out to the private and third sector are covered by freedom of information legislation.</blockquote>
The contracting out of public authority functions to bodies which are not subject to the
FOI Act is likely to severely undermine the public’s rights to information. For further information, see the Campaign's <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foipostlegscrutiny.pdf">evidence</a> to the Justice Committee's review of the Act last year (pg 15-19).<br />
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The motion is open for other MPs to sign. Please write to your MP and ask them to sign EDM 613 on 'Extension of Freedom of Information Act 2000'. You can check the list of MPs that have signed <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2013-14/613">here</a>.Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-52115892263666127162013-08-01T15:36:00.001+01:002013-08-01T15:36:15.288+01:00Practical training on using the FOI Act<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>Wednesday 2nd October 2013</b></div>
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<b>Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Street London EC2A 3EA </b></div>
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Do you want to learn how to use the Freedom of Information Act? Are you already using the Act, but want to know more about how key provisions are being interpreted?<br />
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Making a FOI request is straightforward but making an <i>effective</i> request can be more difficult. Requests which ask for too much information can be refused - and some information may be exempt. But a well thought-out request can have a powerful impact, revealing that a policy isn’t working or an authority isn’t doing its job or generating key information you need for your research.<br />
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This course is designed to help campaigners, journalists and others make the most of the Act and the parallel Environmental Information Regulations. It explains the legislation, shows how to draft clear and effective requests, describes how to challenge unjustified refusals and highlights critical decisions of the Information Commissioner and Tribunal. The course’s interactive sessions will encourage you to work out how to best apply the Act in a variety of situations. This one day course is aimed at both beginners and people who want to use FOI more effectively.
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You can register online <a href="http://cfoiusingthefoiact.eventbrite.co.uk/">here</a> or download a booking form <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foicourseoct13.pdf">here</a>.Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-49886867695263980542013-06-19T16:43:00.003+01:002013-06-19T17:25:28.355+01:00Private member's bill would identify FOI requesters<div class="tr_bq">
The identity of people making FOI requests would be made public if a new private member's bill succeeds. The Freedom of Information (Identity of Applicants) Bill, which will have serious implications for the privacy of individual requesters, is being introduced by Karl McCartney, the Conservative MP for Lincoln, who came 8th in the ballot for bills. </div>
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The bill was <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2013/june/private-members-ballot-bills-first-reading-19-june-2013/">due</a> to have its first reading in the House of Commons today (19 June 2013), but Mr McCartney was not present. An article by the Campaign for Freedom of Information discusses its implications:<br />
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Once requests have been answered, there may be no objection to identifying the requesting <i>organisations</i> such as media bodies, campaign groups, professional bodies or companies.<br />
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Identifying <i>individual requesters</i> is a different matter. Many people use the FOI Act to obtain information about matters which directly affect them. The information they seek may not be personal, but their interest in it is. Someone who asks a social services department about the support provided to people with a particular condition living in particular circumstances may be describing their own situation. Publishing their names will suggest this to others. Where the inference is correct, the disclosure would be highly intrusive. As the law stands, it would also breach the Data Protection Act (DPA). There should be no question of identifying requesters seeking information about issues they face such as mental illness, child abuse, domestic violence, sexual orientation or learning disability.<br />
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Someone who believes they have been wrongly suspected of committing an offence may seek information from the police about the incident. Publishing their names may publicly identify them as a suspect.<br />
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A request may be prompted by suspicion that an authority or other body has behaved improperly. Naming the requester may reveal them as a potential whistleblower, exposing them to possible reprisals.<br />
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When someone asks for information about the spending, conduct or truthfulness of a minister or council leader, the first thing the politician may want to know is who is asking. If that person is an employee or someone dependent on the authority for a service, naming them may leave them vulnerable. Some FOI officers refuse to circulate the requester's name to others within their organisation, partly for these reasons.<br />
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The FOI Act is meant to be 'applicant blind'. Authorities are required to consider whether information <i>can be made public</i> - not whether information should be released to the <i>person making the request</i>. So the identity of the requester is normally irrelevant to the disclosure decision (though an exception may be made for potentially vexatious requests). The applicant blind principle ensures that authorities are not tempted to disclose information to those who are sympathetic to them, while placing obstacles in the way of critics.</blockquote>
Full article <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/foimccartneybill.html">here</a>.Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-90175889975198873432013-03-18T16:02:00.001+00:002013-03-18T16:02:36.412+00:00FOI case law update - 5 June 2013The Campaign for Freedom of Information's next course on 'Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions' will be in London on <b>5 June 2013.</b><br />
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This course, now in its 8th year, deals only with significant Commissioner and Tribunal decisions issued during the past six months. It aims to help experienced FOI practitioners and others with a good working knowledge of the FOI Act keep abreast of new developments. Its exact content is dependent on the decisions that have been issued during the period, but typically covers issues such as:<br />
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<li>"fair" and "unfair" disclosures of personal data; </li>
<li>the FOI/EIR borderline; </li>
<li>the application of specific exemptions including those for breach of confidence, commercial interests and legal professional privilege; </li>
<li>where the public interest line is being drawn; and</li>
<li>the cost limit, aggregating requests, invalid requests, advice & assistance and other administrative provisions. </li>
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The course will be presented by Maurice Frankel, the Campaign's director, who has worked in the field for 29 years.<br />
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Significant discounts are available for more than one booking from the same organisation.<br />
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Further details <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foidecisions_jun2013.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-44119093944627100702013-03-08T12:09:00.000+00:002013-03-08T12:09:18.663+00:00Using the FOI Act! Training for requesters, 23 April 2013<b>Do you want to learn how to use the Freedom of Information Act? Are you already using the Act, but want to know more about how the Information Commissioner and Tribunal are interpreting key provisions?</b><br />
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While making a FOI request is straightforward, making an effective request is more difficult. The Campaign's practical course is designed to help requesters make effective use of the legislation. The morning session provides a working guide to the legislation, covering both the Freedom of Information Act and parallel Environmental Information Regulations, and includes an interactive section on drafting requests. The afternoon session is more advanced and covers some of the key decisions made under both regimes and explains their implications for you. We think most requesters will benefit from attending the whole day, although you're free to attend only one of the sessions if you wish.<br />
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Further information and a booking form are available from the Campaign's <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/">website</a>.Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-61254053224556528362013-02-28T10:20:00.001+00:002013-02-28T10:20:40.751+00:00Questions in House of Lords on Government plans to amend the FOI ActLord Wills <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201213/ldhansrd/text/130227-0001.htm#13022766000323">asked</a> what plans the Government have to amend the Freedom of Information Act during oral questions in the House of Lords on 27 February.<br />
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): My Lords, the Government intend to amend the Act to give the Information Commissioner more time to prosecute alleged offences under Section 77 of the Act and introduce a dedicated exemption for prepublication research. Other parts of our response to post-legislative scrutiny will be implemented through secondary legislation codes of practice and guidance.<br />
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Lord Wills: My Lords, I very much welcome what the Minister has just said about giving the Information Commissioner new powers but I hope he will recognise that suggestions have been made by other Ministers-not this Minister whose commitment to freedom of information is exemplary-that they will tighten the Act. I hope this Minister will recognise that tightening the Act in the way that has been suggested will damage transparency. He will recall that the previous Government at one point proposed to increase fees for accessing freedom of information requests and then dropped the proposal when they realised the damage that that would do to transparency. Are the Government now downplaying that risk to transparency, and doing so at a time when the Francis report into Mid Staffordshire shows just how dangerous damaging transparency can be?<br />
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Lord McNally: My Lords, it is true that we are looking at other aspects of the post-legislative scrutiny through secondary legislation. However, I can assure the noble Lord that my commitment, and the Government's commitment, to transparency and freedom of information, which I see as twin tracks of government policy, remains as steadfast as it has always been. Ideas and information about other aspects of the post-legislative scrutiny fully justified the exercise and I compliment my right honourable friend Sir Alan Beith and his committee for doing an excellent job. It has done much to embed freedom of information in our political culture.</blockquote>
Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames subsequently asked the Minister to give an assurance that there would be no extension of the Government's power to decisions of the Information Commissioner and Tribunal and no further fees, particularly for appeals to the Tribunals.<br />
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Lord McNally: I do not think I can give an absolute assurance on that. We decided to retain the veto following discussions that had gone on since the start of the freedom of information debate about whether, at the very heart of government, a safe space was needed for genuine discussions. At the moment, I am having discussions with colleagues about these ideas and principles and in due course I will inform the House and give it an opportunity to comment on this. It is always an interesting balance. We have faced this problem for a decade or more since we debated these principles in this House. Indeed, we had a very interesting debate a few months ago where a whole clutch of former mandarins gave their opinions about what is called the "chilling effect" of freedom of information. I do not accept that there is such a chilling effect, but I do accept that it is right-as is the proper intention of the post-legislative review of the Act-that we look at how the Act is working and we will come back with recommendations in the areas raised by my noble friend.</blockquote>
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Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-27858669508942967052013-02-13T17:57:00.000+00:002013-02-13T18:03:41.712+00:00Justice Committee hears from Information Commissioner on Government's FOI proposalsOn 5 February 2013, the Justice Committee held a one-off <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmjust/uc962-i/uc96201.htm">evidence session</a> on the work of the Information Commissioner's Office. The session provided an opportunity for the Committee to hear the ICO's views on the Government's proposals to make it easier for authorities to FOI refuse requests on costs grounds and revise its policy on use of the ministerial veto.<br />
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<b>Q25 Mr Llwyd: </b>Can I ask you about the use of ministerial vetoes, which is again a very important point?...Is it the case in fact that the Government do not seem to be following their own statement of policy or that that statement of policy is actually wrong?<br />
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<b>Christopher Graham:</b> I reported to this Committee on 3 September about the ministerial veto activated by the Attorney-General on 31 July in relation to the Iraq minutes...<br />
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I was very struck by the Attorney-General scattering the “E” word around—there were a lot of instances of “exception” and “exceptionally” in the notice supporting the certificate. That seems to me to conflict with what was said in Parliament at the time that the law was passed, which was: “The Government considers that the veto should only be used in exceptional circumstances and only following a collective decision of the Cabinet. This policy is in line with the commitment made by the previous administration during the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill that the veto power would only be used in exceptional circumstances, and only then following collective Cabinet agreement.”...<br />
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I understood that the veto would be invoked very rarely and I do not think that the Commissioner or the tribunal is suddenly scattering unacceptable decision notices around...<br />
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<b>Q26 Mr Llwyd: </b>Following on from that point, my understanding is that the Government will now be reviewing and revising their policy on the veto, including in fact its application in cases which do not involve Cabinet-related information. First, how do you think it should be revised? Secondly, will you be in a position to inform that particular discussion?<br />
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<b>Graham Smith:</b> Perhaps that initial reaction suggests that we are not involved at the moment in that particular discussion. There is no legal requirement on the Government to have a veto policy here. They decided themselves that they would have a policy on the exercise of the veto, and I think now they are trying to extricate themselves from having their hands tied by the policy that they came up with, which, as I think you say, was in the context of Cabinet material being envisaged as what would most likely be the subject of the veto. I should say that it was the previous Government we are talking about there.<br />
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We have now had two cases—one involving the NHS risk register on the proposed reforms there, and the other one more recently on the Prince of Wales’ correspondence— which do not involve Cabinet discussion. My understanding is that the Government are looking for a policy which can be applied in a wider set of circumstances than perhaps had been originally envisaged.<br />
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<b>Q29 Rehman Chishti: </b>I have a few questions in relation to costs of compliance. First, what is your view of the Government’s proposals, in their response to our report on post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act, to reduce the costs to public authorities of compliance with freedom of information legislation?<br />
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<b>Graham Smith: </b>We are talking here about the proposals for the cost limit, which threatens to remove from the ambit of the Freedom of Information Act considerable numbers of requests, irrespective of their public interest merit. That is very concerning. The Committee, I think, rightly recognising that there were genuine issues of burden, suggested that it might be appropriate to reduce the cost limit marginally, and I think you suggested two hours of search and retrieval time. But the Government’s response said that that is so marginal that it would not have any significant effect. They are also looking at including in the activities that can be taken into account when calculating the cost limit the consideration of the information against the exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act. That is the thing that I think threatens to remove a lot of requests from the ambit of freedom of information.<br />
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If the cost limit was both reduced in terms of the actual amount that we are talking about and the amount of time that we are talking about, and these additional activities could be taken into account when calculating the cost limit, then we really would be talking about a significant number of cases being potentially removed from the ambit of freedom of information. But we do not have detail of the Government’s proposals yet. We have not seen any. We have not been asked to comment on or discuss any potential formulae that they might come up with. So at the moment we are just feeling somewhat trepidatious about the situation.<br />
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<b>Q32 Rehman Chishti:</b> I am grateful for that because you obviously have more information at your fingertips than I have over here. If I may move on to my supplementary, do you accept that there is a phenomenon of “industrial” use of the Act, which is proving overly burdensome to public authorities—perhaps local authorities in particular?<br />
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<b>Graham Smith: </b>We recognise that there are some users of the Act who use the rights on a large scale. On occasions, that can be regarded as abuse. We discussed the provisions under the Act for vexatious requests at some length in the post-legislative scrutiny sessions before this Committee. There has just been a very useful and important upper tribunal decision on vexatiousness in this context, which again was released last week, and that will help public authorities and the Commissioner in the application of those provisions.<br />
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Where I would disagree with the impression I was getting from some of the Committee’s deliberation is that this “industrial” use is, if you like, ascribed to some journalists, who, in my experience, are on the whole using the Act very effectively. It has to be said that it is through journalists that a number of very important pieces of information in the public interest have been disclosed under the FOI Act which otherwise would have been kept secret, and we have been talking about some of them today in the course of the discussions...<br />
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<b>Q33 Rehman Chishti:</b> Sure. I have a final supplementary, if I may. Should fees be charged to requesters who take cases to information tribunals?<br />
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<b>Graham Smith: </b>That is very difficult. It would very much change the scheme as it has been introduced...What is relevant is that we have seen, in the last couple of years in particular, much more efficient use by the tribunal of its case management powers so that cases that have no reasonable prospect of success can be the subject of a strike-out application, and we make those applications. The tribunal judges are much more willing to consider those cases very seriously. Whereas in the previous business year we saw about 15% of tribunal appeals being struck out right at the very early stage, so far this year that is running at about 20%. So I think the tribunals themselves are aware of the need to be more efficient and more cost-effective. My own view is that a gateway fee is perhaps a rather blunt instrument in those circumstances, although I can see the attraction in pure cost-saving terms because it would no doubt reduce the number of appeals. Again, it would be arbitrary because it does not necessarily mean that the appeals that are deterred are those without merit, whereas the current strike-out arrangement does address that issue.</blockquote>
The Commissioner was also asked a broader question about public authorities' compliance with Act. In response he told the Committee that the squeeze on his funding could mean the backlog in FOI casework returning:<br />
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<b>Q34 Graham Stringer:</b> Can you give us a broad-brush view of the problems, as you perceive them, of getting public bodies to comply with the freedom of information, both in the spirit of the Act and the detail of the Act?<br />
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<b>Christopher Graham: </b>We have had considerable success as the Act has settled down in recent years by being quite aggressive about those local authorities that do not comply in a timely way. We have a programme of monitoring. At the moment, we have just four public authorities who are being watched over the first quarter of the year. One of them is the Department for Education. In recent years the list has been much longer than that. As the ICO itself has speeded up its consideration of appeals, that, as we intended, has had a salutary effect on the rest of the public service, and other people have got on with it because they realise that the Information Commissioner will not take years to get on to their case. The whole thing has speeded up very satisfactorily....<br />
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<b>Q35 Graham Stringer: </b>Would it be fair to say, going back to your previous answer, that things are improving, but they would improve more quickly if you were able to audit public bodies?<br />
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<b>Christopher Graham:</b> Certainly, because we would concentrate our efforts on those organisations. Wirral borough council is on the watch list at the moment. I would really like to send in a good practice squad to Wirral borough council, but I do not have the powers do that. I am not picking on Wirral; it is just an example that comes to mind.<br />
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<b>Graham Smith: </b>We came forward with a proposal that, if there were statutory time limits, that would put in more of a kind of framework and help to prevent some of the undesirable practices that we see on some occasions, when either the response to a request is spun out on public interest grounds—they take too long under a public interest test extension—or, without a statutory time limit on an internal review, those can take months and months. There is no obligation to give reasons for exercising a public interest test extension or for how long it takes for an internal review. Again, we can do something about it if the complainant comes to us, but, quite often, they do not come until they ultimately get their response and then we find that it has taken six months. Then we can do something about it by way of a practice recommendation.<br />
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Certainly for some public authorities, who do not come to the table with a willingness to comply either with freedom of information requests generally or with specific freedom of information requests which they find, say, politically inconvenient or unhelpful, it gives them the opportunity to kick them into the long grass. We do see evidence of that. Our powers to do something about it are limited, and I think the Act would be stronger if there were statutory time limits. A code of practice is fine, but, by definition, it is a code of practice. While we can take action by way of a practice recommendation for frequent breaches of a code of practice that we have evidence of, it is not the same as an enforcement notice power or a decision notice power where there has been a clear infraction of the Act itself.<br />
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<b>Christopher Graham: </b>I noticed in the Westminster Hall debate the other day that the suggestion was made that it takes one to two years or more to get a response. I was not clear whether that was referring to internal reviews, but certainly it does not refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Whatever may have happened a long time ago, we are now turning round appeals under the Freedom of Information Act very quickly. I have a couple of troublesome cases that have been with us for months and months, but in 90% of the cases requests are dealt with very promptly.<br />
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We do not have a backlog, but I will, if I may, take the opportunity to tell the Committee that the squeeze on grant-in-aid money for freedom of information has been relentless. I said in my memorandum—when I came before you four years ago for approbation or otherwise—that I had resisted the temptation from one of the members of the Committee to say I would only take the job if there were adequate resources for freedom of information. I said, “No, I want to go and have a look.” We have made considerable changes and we have speeded up, but we are now getting to the point where the squeeze on the grant-in-aid is such that I have to hold posts open and am just beginning to see the threat of a backlog returning if we are not careful. We are determined to manage things to make sure that that does not happen, but we are beginning to run out of road because I can only spend grant-in-aid money on freedom of information. I cannot subsidise freedom of information work from the data protection side of the house. It is a very funny way to run a £20 million-organisation. I am cash rich on the data protection side but very cash poor on the freedom of information side.<br />
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That has a bad effect. Despite the heroic efforts of my staff, it is beginning to get very difficult, and yet the demand for our services is increasing all the time. The increase in the FOI appeals caseload is 5% up this year to date, in January, it is up in data protection by 7.3%, and it is up on PECR, which is the nuisance text messages, nearly 9%. So we are very busy, but we have this crazy funding system where to save £1 of freedom of information money, which the Ministry of Justice wants me to do, I also have to save £4 of data protection money because of the gearing, when I could well do with spending that.</blockquote>
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Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-64393194163667041142013-02-11T16:29:00.000+00:002013-02-11T16:31:01.565+00:00Media Update - 15th to 31st January 2013<a href="http://news.stv.tv/scotland/212098-freedom-of-information-laws-should-be-extended-to-private-companies/">Freedom of information laws 'should be extended to private companies'</a> - STV - 31.01.13<br />
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Freedom of information laws should be extended to private companies contracted to provide public services, the Scottish Information Commissioner has said. Such a move will ensure accountability and transparency where large sums of tax-payers' money are involved, Rosemary Agnew said.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-network/2013/jan/30/scottish-councils-freedom-of-information">Placing council services at arms length has weakened Scotland's freedom of information</a> - The Guardian - 30.01.13<br />
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The growing use of arms-length management companies and outsourcing agreements by Scotland's local authorities means that fewer and fewer public services are subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FoISA). This loss of rights has been compounded by sustained inaction by successive ministers to fix the problem by extending the Act's coverage, which culminated this month in the Scottish Government's rejection of amendments that would have ensured FoISA returned to the standard intended when passed in 2002.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21187250">Ministers consider clampdown on 'industrial users' of Freedom of Information</a> - BBC - 24.01.13<br />
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The government is considering how to curb repetitive and overly expensive Freedom of Information requests, justice minister Helen Grant has said. She claimed 'disproportionate burdens' were being imposed by 'industrial users'. In a debate in the House of Commons secondary debating chamber Ms Grant said, "Despite the many benefits that the act has brought, we cannot ignore concerns raised about the burdens that it imposes upon public authorities." But Plaid Cymru MP Elfyn Llwyd said she might be "over-stressing" her case.<br />
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9824649/Government-to-make-it-easier-for-officials-to-block-FOI-requests.html">Government to make it easier for officials to block FOI requests</a> - The Telegraph - 24.01.13<br />
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Ministers want to make it easier for officials to refuse to answer requests from members of the public submitted under the Freedom of Information Act. Justice minister Helen Grant said the Government was looking at stopping "industrial users" who submitted multiple applications. She disclosed that the Government was looking at cutting the amount of time public bodies spend considering applications, which campaigners say will mean that more requests are turned down. The proposed changes have the potential severely to restrict the work of journalists who investigate Government and other public bodies.<br />
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9824190/Cherie-Blair-avoids-sanctions-over-1.3m-mews-tenant.html">Cherie Blair avoids sanctions over £1.3m mews tenant</a> - The Telegraph - 24.01.13<br />
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Cherie Blair and her son Euan have escaped court action despite telling an official inquiry they breached planning regulations in respect of a mews house they own jointly in central London. The admission, made on their behalf by an architect, is revealed in documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21159302">Male prison assaults 'rise by a third' in London</a> - BBC - 24.01.13<br />
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The number of reported assaults in London's male prisons has risen by a third over the last four years. A freedom of information request to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed there were 1,950 reported assaults in eight male prisons in 2011, up from 1,463 in 2007. A penal reform group claims a reduction of prison officers is to blame. An MoJ spokesman said: "The rise in the number of assaults in London prisons is mainly due to an increase in the number of prisoners in London." But the figures show London's male prison population grew by just 6% in the time the assaults rose by 33%.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10179883.__140_000_cost_of_using_sheep_to_mow_grass_in_Brighton_and_Hove/">£140,000 cost of using sheep to mow grass in Brighton and Hove</a> - The Argus - 23.01.13<br />
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A freedom of information request to Brighton and Hove City Council has revealed that the programme of using sheep for keeping ancient downland and chalkland trimmed has cost more than £140,000 over the last two years. The council had been using grazing animals as a more environmentally friendly way of keeping downland trimmed since 2004. Campaigners have raised concerns about the need to enclose the sheep which is restricting access to historic open spaces with fences and gates.<br />
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9820669/Number-of-BBC-chiefs-earning-100000-or-more-rises-despite-pledge-to-cut-salaries.html">Number of BBC chiefs earning £100,000 or more rises despite pledge to cut salaries</a> - The Telegraph - 23.01.13<br />
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A freedom of information request shows that the BBC now pay 360 staff £100,000 or more. Only 310 employees were in the top tier salary bracket in January 2011. The rise comes despite Lord Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, having told the Telegraph in July that he would cut the number of senior managers from around 530 to 200 by 2015, to put an end to the "toxic" issue of executive pay.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jan/20/ricky-tomlinson-shrewsbury-24-secrecy">Ricky Tomlinson calls on government to lift 'veil of secrecy' on Shrewsbury 24</a> - The Guardian - 20.01.13<br />
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Building workers imprisoned in one of the most controversial cases involving trade unionists have been told that documents relating to the case will remain secret for another 10 years. The actor Ricky Tomlinson, who was one of the workers, is calling for the government to lift the "veil of secrecy" over the case and release all the relevant information. In a letter to campaigners Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, said that documents were being withheld under section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act, which relates to safeguarding national security. Mr Tomlinson said his co-workers were convinced that the Tory government of the time had been behind the prosecutions.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/crb-checks-barts-health-nhs-1545938">Hospitals took three years to do safety checks on NHS doctors and nurses</a> - Mirror - 19.01.13<br />
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Doctors and nurses worked in the NHS without proper criminal record checks for as long as three years. Details of the CRB blunder at the Barts Health NHS Trust have emerged in a Freedom of Information report obtained by the Health Service Journal. It shows managers had been warned in October 2009 that procedures used to check the background of staff were inadequate.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-21077297">Isles of Scilly finance director claimed 'extreme expenses'</a> - BBC - 18.01.13<br />
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A senior council officer has defended claiming £18,000 in expenses in the year to April 2012, after the figure was revealed following a Freedom of Information request. The council's finance director admits the amount sounds 'extreme' but says that all claims are legal.<br />
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<a href="http://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/county_rapped_for_keeping_hatfield_incinerator_emissions_details_secret_1_1796337">County rapped for keeping Hatfield incinerator emissions details secret</a> - The Herts Advertiser - 17.01.13<br />
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The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has rebuked Hertfordshire County Council for withholding important information about emissions from an incinerator. In a recent ruling, made in response to request from campaigners under the Freedom of Information Act, the ICO has ordered the council to disclose information. The Council claimed that the information is commercially sensitive and would breach intellectual property rights if released to the public. The local authority has been given until mid-February to comply.<br />
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<a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/freedom-of-information-laws-widened-by-msps.19943689">Freedom of Information laws widened by MSPs</a> - Herald Scotland - 17.01.13<br />
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People will be given greater access to decisions taken by local authority arm's-length bodies providing cultural and leisure facilities after ministers agreed to extend Freedom of Information laws. Scotland's Deputy First Minister said there would also be a consultation on widening the legislation to cover other arm's-length external organisations established by councils to deliver services on their behalf. The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland welcomed widening the ambit of the legislation but has called for access to be greatly increased, to apply, for example, to companies working on public sector contracts.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21039624">London ambulance handover waiting times at A&E 'rising'</a> - BBC - 16.01.13<br />
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The number of ambulances waiting more than 30 minutes from arriving at hospital to handing over patients has gone up about 66% in the last year, according to figures obtained by Labour from a Freedom of Information request.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/15/ministers-exploited-royal-veto-legislation">Ministers accused of exploiting royal veto to block embarrassing legislation</a> - The Guardian - 15.01.13<br />
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Government ministers have exploited the royal family's secretive power to veto new laws as a way to quell politically embarrassing backbench rebellions, a former MP has claimed. Tam Dalyell, the sponsor of a 1999 parliamentary bill that aimed to give MPs a vote on military action against Saddam Hussein, said he is "incandescent and angry" that it was blocked by the Queen under apparent influence from Tony Blair's government. It also emerged that Harold Wilson used the Queen's power to kill off politically embarrassing bills about Zimbabwe and peerages. Detail about the extent of the Queen and Prince Charles' power to consent to or block new laws are emerging as a result of a freedom of information campaign by a legal scholar.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/15/britain-miners-talks-eritrea">Britain facilitating mining firms' talks with repressive Eritrean regime</a> - The Guardian - 15.01.13<br />
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The Government has been facilitating talks between a range of mining and investment companies and the Eritrean government, whose human rights record is castigated in a Human Rights Watch report that says companies rushing to exploit Eritrea's rich resources risk involvement with widespread exploitation of forced labour by the regime. Details of those who attended a meeting organised by the Foreign Office during a visit by officials from Eritrea were released under the Freedom of Information Act.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/15/nhs-surgeon-dangerous-breast-cancer">NHS trust failed to stop dangerous breast cancer operations</a> - The Guardian - 15.01.13<br />
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An NHS Trust was warned in an internal report about the dangers of a controversial breast cancer procedure almost four years before it banned a "rogue" surgeon from continuing to use it. The confidential report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that senior management at the Heart of England NHS trust were alerted to a technique being used by its staff which could increase the risk of breast cancer returning.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03787789036125822123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-27605897135127666662013-02-01T18:35:00.003+00:002013-02-01T18:36:03.600+00:00The FOI Act is at risk! <b>Briefing meeting 2pm, 18 February 2013 </b><br />
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<b><i>The Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA (</i></b><a href="http://www.amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_21095.pdf"><span class="s1"><b><i>map</i></b></span></a><b><i>)</i></b></div>
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The government is planning to amend the Freedom of Information Act to make it easier for authorities to refuse requests on costs grounds. This could have serious implications for requesters. </div>
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At the moment, authorities can refuse requests if they estimate that the cost of <i>finding</i> and <i>extracting</i> the information exceeds certain limits, currently £600 for government departments or £450 for other authorities. The government wants to allow them to also include the cost of <i>considering</i> the request and <i>deleting</i> exempt information. New or complex issues, which are always likely to require significant consideration time may be refused in future, without the substantive issue ever being addressed. </div>
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The government is also proposing to allow <i>unrelated</i> requests from one person or group of people to the same authority to be refused if their number is overly burdensome. This may involve resuscitating the Blair government's proposal to allow unrelated requests to be refused if their combined cost exceeded the limit for a single request. Local newspapers, which cover a range of different issues involving the same authority, could be among the first casualties of this proposal. The government is also considering reducing the cost limit itself. </div>
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Ministers are also considering introducing charges for appealing to the Information Rights Tribunal - a measure likely to discourage many appeals from being made. </div>
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The Campaign for Freedom of Information is holding a briefing meeting on <b>Monday 18 February 2013 at 2 pm</b> to discuss the proposals and what can be done about them.</div>
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If you would like to attend please RSVP to <a href="mailto:admin@cfoi.demon.co.uk"><span class="s2">admin@cfoi.demon.co.uk</span></a> or @CampaignFOI on Twitter. Please circulate details of the meeting to any friends or colleagues you think would be interested. The details are available from <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/foi180213mtg.html"><span class="s2">http://www.cfoi.org.uk/foi180213mtg.html</span></a></div>
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The Campaign's commentary on the government's proposals can be found at: </div>
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<span class="s3"><a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foipostlegscrutiny_cfoicommentgovtresp.pdf">http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foipostlegscrutiny_cfoicommentgovtresp.pdf</a></span><span class="s4">. </span></div>
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Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-90048824065563369982013-01-21T17:26:00.002+00:002013-01-21T17:27:54.873+00:00Media Update - 1st to 14th January 2014<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/9799947/HMRC-taxman-increasingly-snooping-on-taxpayers.html">HMRC: taxman increasingly 'snooping' on taxpayers</a> - The Telegraph - 14.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Figures obtained under Freedom of Information show HMRC officials made almost 14,400 authorised views of "communications data" on taxpayers during tax evasion investigations in the past year. This equates to a rise of almost 25% on 2010 figures. It is not clear how many times the surveillance has led to a successful prosecution for tax evasion or whether those found to be innocent are told that they have been spied upon.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/city-sackings-soar-as-fsa-cracks-down-8449993.html">City sackings soar as FSA cracks down</a> - The Independent - 14.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sackings and suspensions hit a five-year high in the City last year, as the financial crisis continued to take its toll on employment amid a clampdown on wrongdoing by the regulator. Law firm Pinsent Masons sourced figures through a freedom of information request.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20998800">Sharp fall in young police officers</a> - BBC - 13.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The number of young police officers in England and Wales has fallen by nearly 50% in two years. Overall police numbers hit an nine-year low in 2012, due to tighter budget constraints slowing recruitment, but data obtained in a Freedom of Information request by the BBC shows how much of that fall has been among younger officers.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/information-commissioner-backtracks-on-naming-salmon-farms-that-kill-seals-after-death-threat.19897801?">Information commissioner backtracks on naming salmon farms that kill seals after 'death threat'</a> - Herald Scotland - 13.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a rare move, the Scottish Information Commissioner has reopened her investigation into the issue of forcing ministers to name salmon farms that shoot seals to stop them eating fish. The Commissioner has now given ministers until the end of the month to provide hard evidence of the risks to property and people that are claimed to exist from animal welfare campaigners should the farms be named. She will then consider whether to enforce her decision, which originally demanded seal-shooting salmon farms be identified by 10th January.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-20985476?">Stirling university researcher claims safety regime policy is risky</a> - BBC - 11.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Stirling university researcher has claimed government policy on safety is putting lives at risk in the work place. Prof Rory O'Neill used Freedom of Information requests and Health and Safety Executive reports to compile a list of sectors excluded from unannounced HSE inspections.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/09/financial-transparency-privatised-nhs">How to follow the public money in a privatised NHS</a> - The Guardian - 09.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without basic financial transparency from public service contractors we can say goodbye to democratic accountability.</span><br />
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[Note: In this Comment piece Zoe Williams urges readers to request their MP's to sign an early day motion (EDM) calling for private companies with NHS contracts to be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The MP responsible for introducing the EDM, Grahame Morris (Labour) responds in The Guardian Letters 10.01.13 <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/10/right-to-know-private-health?">here</a>.]</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/369396/10-000-truancy-convictions-in-a-year">10,000 truancy convictions in a year</a> - Daily Express - 08.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Record numbers of parents are being convicted for allowing their children to play truant from school, new figures obtained from the Ministry of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/violent-school-pupils-attack-900-london-teachers-a-year-8440965.html">Violent school pupils attack 900 London teachers a year</a> - London Evening Standard - 07.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teachers in London have suffered more than 4,000 assaults from pupils over the past five years. The scale of violence is shown in figures obtained by the Evening Standard under the Freedom of Information Act.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-20891186">Abuse and neglect complaints increase in Essex care homes</a> - BBC - 07.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allegations of abuse of elderly people in Essex care homes have risen by more than 300 in a year, a BBC Freedom of Information request revealed. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px;">The allegations total 1,398 in 2011-12, up from 1,045 in 2010-11. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px;">The council said 299 allegations of abuse had been upheld in 2011/12 up from 149 in 2010/11.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/0/CB7B546AEBD2539180257AE9002697EB?OpenDocument">20-year rule comes into force</a> - Wired-gov - 04.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As of 1st January 2013, the government has begun its move towards releasing records when they are 20 years old, instead of 30. During 2013 The National Archives will receive records from 1983 and 1984. Then, two further years worth of government records will be transferred each year until 2023 when the Archive will receive records from 2003.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/cuts-fail-to-halt-first-class-travel-for-profligate-public-sector-1-5280508">Cuts fail to halt first-class travel for profligate public sector</a> - Yorkshire Post - 05.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Councils and NHS hospitals are spending thousands of pounds on first-class rail tickets for senior executives despite the biggest squeeze on public spending in living memory. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed at least five of Yorkshire's 22 councils and four of its NHS hospital trusts spent taxpayers' money on first-class rail fares during 2011/12, though most public bodies in the region said it was strictly against their guidelines to pay for their staff to travel first class.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics/politics-news/5-000-cost-to-design-controversial-fenland-sign-1-4636506">£5,000 cost to 'design' controversial Fenland sign</a> - Peterborough Telegraph - 04.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Concern has been raised over the use of public funds after the Highways Agency spent £5,000 designing a road sign for a Fenland Village.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/revealed-deaths-during-childbirth-are-on-the-rise.19822449?">Revealed: Deaths during childbirth are on the rise</a> - Herald Scotland - 04.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than 40 women have died as a result of childbirth in Scotland in the past decade and the number of fatalities appears to be rising. The figures, obtained by the Herald using Freedom of Information legislation, show the number of mothers killed by complications linked to pregnancy and delivery doubled in five years. NHS officials initially refused to reveal the figures and only released the information after an appeal was lodged.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-20898484">Ex-University of Wales vice chancellor had £20,000 pay rise</a> - BBC - 03.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plaid Cymru has criticised a £20,000 pay rise for the former vice chancellor of the University of Wales. The salary of professor Marc Clement rose from £121,082 in 2010-11 to £140,150 the following year. He was aloso paid a "discretionary honorarium" of £10,000 in 2010-11, a freedom of information request showed. Plaid described the decision as "baffling" as it came as the University faced controversy over links to partner colleges, leading to it being effectively wound up.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/01/mod-compensation-log-afghan-war">MoD compensation log illustrates human cost of Afghan war</a> - The Guardian - 01.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A list obtained under Freedom of Information Act shows compensation paid by the Ministry of Defence for civilian injuries and deaths alongside frequent crop damage. The cases paint a picture of the ongoing human cost of the conflict.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-20876674">Sex offender at Southend Hospital was CRB checked</a> - BBC - 01.01.13</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A known sex offender got work at a hospital despite being criminal record bureau (CRB) checked. Responding to the BBC's FOI request, the hospital said the agency worker was hired to provide optician services and saw eight children between April and June.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03787789036125822123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-62404548577577465722013-01-14T17:13:00.001+00:002013-01-14T17:24:20.151+00:00Crunch week for FOI in Scotland as Parliament debates coverageThe Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland (CFoIS) has urged the Scottish Parliament to back a series of amendments to the Scottish Government's <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/51531.aspx">Freedom of Information (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill</a>. This Bill is to have its Stage 3 debate in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 16 January and a series of amendments are proposed to ensure FOI rights extend to public services provided by private, voluntary and arms-length bodies.<br />
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The CFoIS wants the Scottish Government to heed the concerns expressed by the Finance Committee's Stage One report. The Campaign is taking part in a briefing meeting for MSPs on Tuesday 15 January, the day before the Parliamentary debate, and will be circulating a written briefing outlining the need to amend this bill to reinstate eroded rights to information. The meeting will be chaired by Paul Martin MSP, and addressed by Carole Ewart of the CFoIS.<br />
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Carole Ewart, Co-Convener of the CFoIS, said:<br />
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<i>"A number of MSPs, including members of the Finance Committee, have submitted amendments to this Bill, as the Scottish Government appears unable or unwilling to accept our arguments in favour of protecting our information rights."</i></div>
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The major reason why the Bill should be strengthened is to retrieve peoples's information rights lost as increasing outsourcing of our public services removes services from coverage. Neither the Scottish Government nor previous Scottish Executive Administrations have ever used their powers to add named bodies and categories of bodies to the list of organisations covered.<br />
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Amending the Bill is also necessary to meet the Scottish Government's own FoI principles, 1 and 2: that "the public's right to know remains an essential part of an open, democratic government and responsive public services" and FoISA "will be adjusted where it is necessary and sensible to do so".<br />
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Carole Ewart said:<br />
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<i>"At a time when Audit Scotland estimates over 130 arms-length bodies are involved in delivering public services, and when the Scottish Government is proposing bills like the Procurement, and Community Empowerment Bills that will bring more bodies into public service delivery, it is very concerning that they seem oblivious to the threats these pose to everyone's right to know about how our cash is spent."</i><br />
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The Briefing for MSPs will be held in Committee Room 1 from 1.15pm on Tuesday 15 January.<br />
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A copy of the briefing sent to MSPs in advance of the debate is available from the CFoIS website <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/scotland.html">http://www.cfoi.org.uk/scotland.html</a>.<br />
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There is an email message available on the <a href="http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/FOI/index.html">UNISONScotland</a> website, that allows Campaign supporters to lobby their MSPs.</div>
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Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-81254516721988725102013-01-11T11:52:00.001+00:002013-01-11T11:52:44.463+00:00FOI Media Update - December 14th to 31st 2012
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<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255171/BBC-Salford-Staff-paid-90-000-relocate-north.html">Not so grim up North: BBC staff paid up to £90,000 to relocate to Salford HQ</a> - Daily Mail - 31.12.12</div>
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A freedom of information request found that 850 staff have been given a total of £11 million to cover the costs of moving, as well as one-off payouts worth 10 per cent of their salary to encourage them to move north from London.</div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/dec/30/energy-companies-climate-ministry-decc">Energy company staff working at climate ministry</a> - The Guardian - 30.12.12</div>
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Employees from firms including British Gas, Shell and npower are being seconded to work at Department of Energy and Climate Change and, in most cases, are being paid by the government to do so. Documents released under the freedom of information rules reveal that almost two dozen employees from companies are working at the Department, and civil servants have travelled in the opposite direction to work for the companies.</div>
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<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/927-doctors-and-surgeons-have-criminal-record-including-child-porn-and-sexual-assault-offences-8432531.html">927 doctors and surgeons 'have criminal record, including child porn and sexual assault offences' - The Independent</a> - 28.12.12</div>
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Nearly 1,000 doctors and surgeons have criminal records including child porn and sexual assault offences. The figures have been revealed by the General Medical Council in response to a Freedom of Information request by the <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/927-doctors-keep-jobs-despite-1508052">Daily Mirror</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/28/criminal-records-errors">Criminal records wrongly name 12,000 people</a> - The Guardian - 28.12.12</div>
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Nearly 12,000 people over the past five years were wrongly labelled criminals due to inaccurate record checks, leading to £1.9m paid out in compensation. The figures, published by privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch after a freedom of information request, showed the most common errors involved information being disclosed by local police forces or the police national computer.</div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/dec/27/social-media-crime-facebook-twitter">Social media-related crime reports up 780% in four years</a> - The Guardian - 27.12.12</div>
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Statistics released by police forces under the Freedom of Information Act show that the phenomenon of social networking crime was comparatively minor in 2008 with 556 reports made to police . This year there were 4,908 reports in which Facebook and Twitter were a factor.</div>
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/9766204/Alex-Salmond-secrecy-over-independence-civil-servants.html">Alex Salmond 'secrecy' over independence civil servants</a> - The Telegraph - 27.12.12</div>
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Mr Salmond had faced accusations of overseeing a "culture of secrecy" after claiming he holds no record of how many civil servants he has assigned to work on his blueprint for an independent Scotland.</div>
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-20846190">Prescription medicine waste 'costs £500,000' to NHS in Scotland</a> - BBC - 27.12.12</div>
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The Liberal Democrats have hit out at the £500,000 a year cost to the NHS in Scotland for collecting and destroying unused prescriptions. The figures obtained by freedom of information cover the cost of medicines returned unused to pharmacies in 10 out of 14 health boards in 2011/12.</div>
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<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/inquiry-into-excessive-payoffs-for-bbc-chiefs-8431633.html">Inquiry into 'excessive' pay-offs for BBC chiefs</a> - The Independent - 26.12.12</div>
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The public spending watchdog, The National Audit Office, is to investigate BBC severance packages after it emerged that almost 200 senior managers received pay-offs of more than £100,000 each in the past three years. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information laws show that between 2010 and 2011 the cost of redundancy payments more than doubled to £58 million.</div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/dec/26/teachers-stress-unions-strike">Rise in teachers off work with stress - and union warns of worse to come</a> - The Guardian - 26.12.12</div>
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The number of teachers taking stress leave has increased by 10% over the past four years, with 15 local authorities seeing a 50% rise in stress-related absences, according to statistics released under the Freedom of Information Act.</div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/dec/26/sellafield-emergency-readiness-nuclear-watchdog">Nuclear safety watchdog criticises Sellafield's emergency readiness</a> - The Guardian - 26.12.12</div>
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A damning report by safety experts has revealed that staff at Britain's most important nuclear site did "not have the level of capability required to respond to nuclear emergencies effectively". In response to a freedom of information request, the Office for Nuclear Regulation said errors by senior fire officers in a preparedness exercise at Sellafield "could have led to delays in responding to the nuclear emergency and a prolonged release of radioactive material off-site".</div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/26/prince-charles-black-spider-veto">Prince Charles: 'black spider memos' to ministers could spark second veto</a> - The Guardian - 26.12.12.</div>
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Further secret lobbying written by Prince Charles letters could set government ministers against judiciary again if judges rule in favour of publication 'in public interest'. Cabinet ministers provoked an uproar earlier in the year when they overruled three judges and banned the disclosure of letters that could have cast doubt on the prince's neutrality. The judges had decided that the public had a right to see how the heir to the throne had been trying to sway government policy. Now the same judges are deciding whether a second set of letters sent by the prince should be published. If the judges decide that this second cache of letters should be published, the cabinet would then be faced with the prospect of having to veto their publication as well.</div>
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9765676/Concerns-over-use-of-Taser-guns-on-vulnerable-people.html">Concerns over use of Taser guns on vulnerable people</a> - The Telegraph - 25.12.12</div>
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Figures obtained under Freedom of Information show that in the last three years police have used Tasers on at least 78 people to stop them from killing or otherwise hurting themselves. Mental health charities have criticised such use as being "completely inappropriate" actions on people "in great mental distress".</div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/23/runaway-children-police-councils">Runaway children in greater danger through police and council failings, report warns</a> - Observer - 23.12.12</div>
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According to The Children's Society support for the 100,000 children who run away from home every year, many of them fleeing physical or sexual abuse, is extremely limited and in large parts of the country shows no signs of improving. The Society sent freedom of information requests to all 150 councils in England and the 43 regional police forces and found that two-thirds of the councils had no specific programme to help runaways, while a similar proportion was unable to provide emergency accommodation. Almost half of all police forces were unable to say how many children went missing in their area each year.</div>
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<a href="http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/12/22/mp-gavin-williamson-attacks-centro-19k-lobbying-bill/">MP Gavin Williamson attacks Centro £19k lobbying bill</a> - Express & Star - 22.12.12</div>
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Tory MP Gavin Williamson has used the Freedom of Information Act to reveal the taxpayer funded authority in charge of West Midlands public transport spends almost £20,000 a year on lobbying politicians and promoting itself to government.</div>
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20809641">Department for Education to face special FOI measures</a> - BBC - 21.12.12</div>
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The Department for Education's difficulties with implementing the Freedom of Information Act have been re-emphasized in the most recent release of statistics on the performance of government departments. In the latest quarter it had the worst record out of all department in England for responding to FoI requests within the legal time limit. As a result the Department has been put under special monitoring by the Information Commissioner's Office.</div>
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In September the DfE abandoned the controversial legal case it had been fighting to try to establish that emails sent by ministers on personal accounts ere not covered by the FOI Act. The position was in defiance of the clear stance adopted by the Information Officer, who had already ruled that all emails sent on government business could fall under FOI, whether an official or private account was used.</div>
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Three other public authorities have also been targeted by the ICO for close monitoring due to their unsatisfactory handling of FOI applications.</div>
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/9759219/Scottish-councils-spend-nearly-150-million-on-credit-cards.html">Scottish councils spend nearly £10 million on credit cards</a> - The Telegraph - 21.12.12</div>
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Scotland's councils have spent nearly £150 million on credit cards including transactions for skateboards, the rights to screen the film Grease and thousands of pounds in unexplained cash withdrawals. Official figures were obtained by the Conservatives under the Freedom of Information Act.</div>
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-20769750">£37m Poole Twin Sails Bridge 'glitches' defended</a> - BBC - 19.12.12</div>
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A Freedom of Information Act request by the BBC found the lifting bridge linking Poole port and Hamworthy closed 38 times in its first six months. The bridge opened in April after being beset by delays and unexpected closures. Poole Borough Council says the town's Twin Sails Bridge is something to be proud of, despite its early problems.</div>
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/leveson-inquiry/9753884/New-FOI-curbs-could-make-Government-more-secret.html">New FOI curbs could make Government more secret</a> - The Telegraph - 18.12.12</div>
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The Government has published proposals in response to a committee of MP's report on the working of the Freedom of Information Act.</div>
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Changes to the cost cap on requests could radically cut the proportion of requests under the FOI legislation that are answered. </div>
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Other changes would allow officials to add into the cost their "thinking time" when deciding to give answers further limiting the information that would be released. This proposal is of particular concern to The Campaign for Freedom of Information. Its director, Maurice Frankel, said, "The longer an authority needs to think about a request, the greater the chance of it being able to refuse to answer on cost grounds".</div>
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Information released through FOI have formed the basis of some of the biggest stories in recent years, notably the revelations concerning MP's expenses, which were revealed in 2009.</div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/18/nhs-trusts-enmeshed-private-provision">NHS trusts are enmeshed in private provision - as buyers and suppliers</a> - The Guardian - 18.12.12</div>
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NHS hospitals deal with private firms to buy and sell patient care and treatment services worth more than £500m.</div>
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Freedom of information requests to more than 100 NHS trusts revealed hospitals were spending millions of pounds buying beds in private hospitals, often to bring down long waiting lists.</div>
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In some cases the NHS draws a veil of secrecy over the state's relationships with the private sector. Some trusts simply refused to name which companies they were spending tax pounds with for patient care, claiming that to do so would "prejudice commercial interests".</div>
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<a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/41fb4bdc-4940-11e2-9225-00144feab49a.html">Freedom of information proposals attacked</a> - Financial Times - 18.12.12</div>
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Government plans to amend the Freedom of Information Act could make it hard for people to get answers to complex or contentious requests, the Campaign for Freedom of Information has said. The changes could see time-consuming information requests refused because authorities would be allowed to take account of the cost of considering applications and deleting exempt data, as well as the time it takes to find documents.</div>
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The government is also proposing to allow authorities to combine the cost of unrelated freedom of information requests from the same individual or organisation - making it more likely that requests could exceed cost limits.</div>
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<a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/18million-in-benefits-paid-to-prisoners-has-not-been-recovered-8420965.html">£18million in benefits paid to prisoners has not been recovered</a> - London Evening Standard - 16.12.12<br />
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More than £18 million in benefits wrongly paid to prisoners in the past four years has not been clawed back. The figures, revealed by a freedom of information request by the Mail on Sunday, show that between 2007 and 2011 overpayments as a result of "customers being in prison" were made worth £31.7 million but only £13.1 million was recovered - a shortfall of £18.6 million.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-20754689?">Lancashire PCC Clive Grunshaw faces expenses probe</a> - BBC - 17.12.12<br />
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Lancashire's police and crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw is facing questions about his expenses while a councillor and police authority member following a freedom of information request from Conservative councillor.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03787789036125822123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-35918563964914868842012-12-21T11:18:00.004+00:002012-12-21T11:19:44.903+00:00ICO announces latest list of authorities for FOI monitoringICO news release: 21 December 2012<br />
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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced that four public authorities will be monitored for three months in the new year over concerns about the timeliness of their responses to Freedom of Information requests.<br />
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The ICO will monitor the Department for Education, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) in Northern Ireland and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council between 1 January 2013 and 31 March 2013.<br />
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The authorities were selected as they failed to respond to 85% of FOI requests within the time limit of 20 working days or had exceeded the time limit by a significant margin on numerous occasions. Three of the authorities have been the subject of a number of complaints to the ICO over the timeliness of their responses, while the OFMDFM performance statistics for all requests received during 2011 show that only just over half were answered on time, with further delays encountered this year.<br />
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Commenting on <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2012/~/media/documents/library/Freedom_of_Information/Notices/list_of_ico_timeliness_monitored_bodies_01012013-31032013.ashx">the publication of today’s list</a> the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said:<br />
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“We will monitor the authorities named today for three months, and may take further action after this monitoring period has expired if we don’t see the necessary improvements in each authorities’ standard of compliance. It is particularly disappointing to see that the advances previously made by the Department for Education, the Department for Work and Pensions, and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council – which were introduced following concerns after previous rounds of monitoring - have not been continued.<br />
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“This is not good enough and we expect these authorities to take the necessary measures to ensure that they are meeting their obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. We will provide support and advice where we can, but reserve the right to take further action if they fail to step up to the mark.”<br />
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<a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/monitoring_compliance.aspx">View further information on the ICO's monitoring compliance scheme</a></blockquote>
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Three of the four authorities on the latest list have been monitored for delays by the ICO before. The Department of Work and Pensions and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council were <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/~/media/documents/library/Freedom_of_Information/Notices/list_of_ico_monitored_bodies.pdf">monitored</a> by the ICO between 1 October and 31 December 2010. The Department for Education was <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/~/media/documents/library/Freedom_of_Information/Notices/list_of_ico_monitored_bodies_1april-30june.ashx">monitored </a>between 1 April to 30 June 2011. According to the latest statistics, several other government departments are also failing to respond to at least 85% of requests in 20 working days (see earlier <a href="http://foia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/central-government-foi-performance-jul.html">post</a>). </div>
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Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-51468931091294232552012-12-19T11:28:00.000+00:002012-12-19T11:28:53.829+00:00Government's FOI reforms would block difficult requests Government plans to amend the Freedom of Information Act would make it harder for requesters to obtain answers to new, complex or contentious FOI requests, according to the Campaign for Freedom of Information.<br /><br />The government is proposing to make it easier for public authorities to refuse time-consuming requests. At the moment, authorities can refuse requests if they estimate that the cost of <i>finding</i> and <i>extracting</i> the information exceeds certain limits. The government wants to allow them to also include the cost of <i>considering</i> the request and <i>deleting</i> exempt information.<br /><br />The Campaign is particularly concerned at the proposal to allow an authority to include its 'thinking time' in the cost calculations. The Campaign's director Maurice Frankel said: <i>"The longer an authority needs to think about a request, the greater the chance of it being able to refuse to answer on cost grounds. Requests involving unfamiliar, complex or contentious issues all of which require substantial 'thinking time' would be likely to be refused under these proposals. This would prevent the Act from dealing with difficult issues or breaking new ground."</i><br /><br />Many kinds of requests are only time consuming because they raise new issues. Once these have been worked through, and particularly once case law is available, decisions may be easy, the Campaign says. The government's proposals might prevent this happening by permitting such requests to be refused on cost grounds without ever addressing the issues they raise.<br /><br />The Campaign also says estimates based on thinking time are likely to be subjective. <i>"They may depend on the novelty of the issues to the authority, the FOI officer's experience and judgment. They may also be easily manipulated. Authorities may deliberately estimate that they would have to consult more officials than is strictly necessary in order to boost the consideration time and increase the chances of being able to refuse the request on cost grounds"</i> said Mr Frankel.<br /><br />The government is also proposing to allow the cost of unrelated requests made by the same individual or organisation to be aggregated so that all of them can be refused if the total cost exceeds set limits, currently £600 for government departments or £450 for other authorities.<br /><br />The Campaign says local newspapers, which cover a range of different issues involving the same authority, would be the first casualties of this proposal. <i>"A single request about school exam results might be enough to reach the cost limit. Thereafter the whole newspaper - not just the individual journalist - might be barred from making any further FOI requests to the authority for the next quarter, even on different issues such as child abuse, road safety or library closures" </i>said Mr Frankel.<br /><br />The government says it wants to address the problem of requests that are time-consuming to deal with but which authorities cannot refuse because the records are easily found. It also wants to address the 'industrial' use of the Act by some requesters who make disproportionate use of the Act. The Campaign says if these are the concerns, it should specifically target these situations - not change the rules across the board in ways that will block even modest use of the Act.<br /><br />The Campaign is also concerned at the government's suggestion that charges might be made for appealing to the Information Rights Tribunal. It says these would deter requesters with well-founded cases from appealing against decisions that they would be likely to win.<br /><br />The Campaign welcomed the government's decision not to introduce charges for FOI requests or to introduce additional exemptions to protect cabinet papers or sensitive policy discussions.<br /><br />However, the government has rejected proposals to tighten up the time limits for responding to FOI requests which it says would add to the burdens on authorities. It has also refused to require authorities to publish their statistics on compliance with FOI time limits. The Campaign says it is disappointing that even this modest proposal has been rejected.<br /><br />The government's proposals, published at the end of November are contained in its <a href="http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/policy/moj/government-response-to-the-justice-committees-report-post-legislative-scrutiny-of-the-freedom-of-information-act">response</a> to the Justice select committee's <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmjust/96/9602.htm">report</a> into the operation of the Freedom of Information Act.<br /><br />The Campaign has published a <a href="http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foipostlegscrutiny_cfoicommentgovtresp.pdf">commentary</a> on the government proposals.Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-38404604500304544022012-12-17T12:12:00.001+00:002012-12-17T12:12:55.611+00:00FOI Media Update - December 1st to 14th 2012<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2247889/BBC-spends-1million-flights-U-S-just-seven-months.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your £1 million bill for jet-set BBC bosses: Corporation spent huge sum on flights to U.S. in just seven months</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> - Mail Online - 14.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The BBC spent more than £1 million on flights to America in the space of seven months this year, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/9743153/Prince-of-Wales-should-be-forced-to-answer-freedom-of-information-requests-court-told.html">Prince of Wales 'should be forced to answer freedom of information requests', court told</a> - The Telegraph - 13.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Prince of Wales should be forced to abide by freedom of information laws so that environmentalists can ensure he is managing the Duchy of Cornwall properly, a judge has been told. The Duchy claims that it is a private entity, and is therefore exempt from the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), under which public bodies must disclose information on activity that impacts the environment. In the latest round of an argument begun in 2008, the Upper Tribunal in London was told that the Duchy's control of assets made it a public body in all but name.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At a previous hearing, an Information Rights Tribunal <a href="http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DBFiles/Decision/i600/20111206%20Decision%20&%20Ruling%20EA20100182.pdf">ruled</a> that the Duchy was a public body for the purposes of the EIR, but the Duchy successfully applied for a stay of proceedings while a <a href="http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=2003%252F4%252FEC%2B&docid=125742&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=363119#ctx1">test case</a> is heard in the European Court of Justice. In the latest hearing Mr Justice Charles ruled that the stay of proceedings should remain in place until the ECJ makes its ruling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/13/live-animal-exports-unknown-routes?">Live animal exports going via previously unknown routes</a> - The Guardian - 13.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Farmers, lorry firms and shipping companies have been operating a hitherto unknown route for live export of animals as controversy over the trade through Ramsgate intensifies. Cattle from farms in England and Scotland have been transported unknown to welfare campaigners. The government's Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), responsible for ensuring proper welfare arrangements, has revealed nine consignments totalling more than a thousand cattle were sent out of the UK in this way in the first half of 2012. The figures were released to Compassion in World Farming in response to Freedom of Information requests but the AHVLA withheld information about which port or ports are used and the final destinations of animals, claiming doing so might jeopardise the health and safety of its staff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/10106534._/?">Harrow has lost 100 police officers, claims Gareth Thomas MP</a> - Harrow Times - 13.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Harrow West MP claims to have uncovered data, using a Freedom of Information Act request to the Metropolitan Police Service, which shows that Harrow has lost 100 police officers in two years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/13/m25-camera-fail-to-catch-single-speeding-driver_n_2291433.html?">M25 cameras fail to catch a single speeding driver in past year</a> - The Huffington Post - 13.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not a single driver on the M25 has been caught or fined for speeding in the past year because the cameras don't work. Some police authorities were reluctant to supply details in response to Freedom of Information requests. The Metropolitan Police took more than 40 days to respond and originally refused to reply for "fear of repercussions".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20681147?">Bus support 'cut for second year'</a> - BBC - 12.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than 40% of local authorities in England have cut spending on supported bus services this financial year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2246493/6-000-worth-VIAGRA-anti-smoking-pills-items-stolen-military-bases.html">£6,000 worth of VIAGRA and anti-smoking pill among items stolen from military bases</a> - Mail Online - 11.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Details of thefts from military bases were disclosed by the MoD's Defence Fraud Analysis Unit in response to FOI request.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2012/12/11/86081-32405642/?">Kirklees Council leader Mehboob Khan cleared on FOI tampering claims</a> - The Huddersfield Daily Examiner - 11.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A tribunal has found that Kirklees Council leader did not interfere with the public's right to access information under the Freedom of Information Act.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20669621?">The group which doesn't know its chief executive's pay</a> - BBC - 10.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An educational organisation, United Learning, which runs 31 schools has told the Information Commissioner that it doesn't hold any information on what its chief executive, a former senior civil servant, is paid. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/the_13m_redundancy_bill_for_norfolk_and_suffolk_councils_and_police_1_1736611">The £13m redundancy bill for Norfolk and Suffolk councils and police</a> - Norwich Evening News - 10.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Councils and police forces in Norfolk and Suffolk spent £13.2m making more than 1,200 workers redundant in just 12 months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.lep.co.uk/news/local/lancashire-school-abuse-figures-are-a-concern-1-5210614">Lancashire school abuse figures are a 'concern'</a> - Lancashire Evening Post - 10.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nearly 500 allegations of physical and sexual abuse were made against people working in Lancashire schools over the past three years. New figures, which came to light as a result of a Freedom of Information request, reveal that the county has sacked more school staff, including teachers, than anywhere else in the country as a direct result of the claims.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20641867?">Funding and staff 'cut' for cancer networks</a> - BBC - 10.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clinical networks which oversee the care of cancer, heart and stroke patients in the NHS have had their budgets and staff cut, data obtained under Freedom of Information shows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2012/12/tory-mp-in-battle-with-ministers-over-snooping-bill-safeguards/?">Tory MP in battle with ministers over 'snooping bill' safeguards</a> - Spectator - 09.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Tory MP is engaged in a fight with the Home Office on safeguards for its draft Communications Data Bill. Part of the government's justification for the bill rests on filtering arrangements. Conservative MP Dominic Raab, who is deeply concerned about the legislation, is irritated that the government is refusing to provide information on how those filtering arrangements will work in practice. He is appealing to the Information Commissioner's Office after having a Freedom of Information request refused by the Home Office.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-20649010?">Lockerbie bomber: Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Tutu urged to back release</a> - BBC - 07.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Scottish government asked Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Irish president Mary Robinson to back its decision to release Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. Emails sent to prominent figures have been published after a Freedom of Information request.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk/renfrewshire-news/local-news-in-renfrewshire/paisley-news/2012/12/07/87085-32377924/?">Shock RAH findings unearthed by patient</a> - Paisley Daily Express - 07.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Death rates at the Royal Alexandra Hospital double at weekends. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information legislation show that the Monday to Friday death rate at the Paisley hospital is around two per cent - but this increases to around four per cent on Saturdays and Sundays.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=422049&c=1">Research data win exemption from FoI Act</a> - Times Higher Education - 06.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The government has agreed to introduce an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act to prevent the premature disclosure of research data. Universities UK has campaigned for an exemption because it feared that researchers could use the act to "scoop" raw experimental data from rivals and beat them to publication.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9724492/Car-thief-paid-2000-compensation-after-police-dog-bite-during-arrest.html">Car Thief paid £2,000 compensation after police dog bite during arrest</a> - Telegraph - 05.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A car thief has been paid £2,000 in compensation by a police force after he was bitten by one of its dogs during his arrest. The payout came to light following a Freedom of Information request regarding people who had sued Notts Police over dog bites in the past three years. In total, over £19,000 has been paid to six claimants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Police-are-armed-with-bullets-too-cruel-for-warfare-05122012.htm?">Police are armed with bullets too cruel for warfare</a> - Cambridge News - 05.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A controversial type of bullet used to kill Charles de Menezes has been given to Cambridgeshire's armed police. The revelation that the constabulary has armed officers with the bullet - which was banned in warfare more than a century ago - came after a Freedom of Information request.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/news/10088044._/?">Liberal Democrats hit out at Haringey Borough Council for spending £40m on agency staff and consultants</a> - Haringey Independent - 04.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Opposition councillors have criticised Haringey Borough Council for spending more than £40m on agency staff and consultants. According to figures from a Freedom of Information request, the council has spent £38m on temporary agency staff and a further £1.6m on consultants since 2010.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=422037&c=1">Student suicides rise along with debt burdens</a> - Times Higher Education - 04.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The number of students taking their own lives rose by 50 per cent in four years. The statistics, released via a Freedom of Information request made by Ed Pinkney, the founder of Mental Wealth UK, a student mental health charity. According to Mr Pinkney, the figures come in the light of growing pressures on students caused by rising costs and gloomy job prospects.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/03/london-councils-housing-families-outside-capital?">London councils face questions for housing families outside the capital</a> - The Guardian - 03.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reduction in number of affordable properties has led authorities to send families as far away as Cornwall and Newcastle. Research has revealed the scale of plans being drawn up to send families to live in temporary housing outside the capital. Eighteen of those councils responding to Freedom of Information requests anticipate having to place people outside of Greater London next year to cope with the rising numbers of homeless families.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.holyrood.com/2012/12/talking-point-hospital-safety/?">Talking point: Hospital safety</a> - Holyrood - 03.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Around one in ten patients who are admitted to hospital suffer an adverse event - some more serious than others. Hundreds of previously hidden reports that detail some of the most serious incidents in Scotland's hospitals last year have now been published by BBC Scotland, following a Freedom of Information request.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk/news/nearly_200_compensation_claims_brought_against_redbridge_hospital_trust_in_two_years_1_1726815">Nearly 200 compensation claims brought against Redbridge hospital trust in two years </a>- Ilford Recorder - 03.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Freedom of Information request by the Recorder revealed that nearly 200 compensation claims have been made against Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust in last two years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hs2-is-likely-to-lower-the-value-of-up-to-170000-homes-8374305.html">HS2 'is likely to lower the value of up to 170,000 homes'</a> - Independent - 02.12.12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The value of more than 40,000 homes - and possibly as many as 170,000 - could be hit by the proposed new HS2 rail line, yet ministers are proposing to compensate fewer than 2,000 owners, campaigners have warned.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03787789036125822123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-14698735104869697432012-12-14T17:19:00.000+00:002012-12-14T21:35:59.280+00:00Move to 20 year rule / reduction in lifespan of FOI exemptions implemented<div>
An Order has been made implementing the reduction of the '30 year rule' to 20 years and the lifespan of some of the FOI Act's exemptions to 20 years, amendments that were made by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The changes will take effect from 1 January 2013. Two further orders making transitional arrangements to phase in the changes, as set out by Lord McNally in a <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-vote-office/july_2012/13-07-12/16-publicrecords.pdf">written ministerial statement</a>, have been laid before Parliament:</div>
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This is a major change and it is therefore important that it is introduced in a manageable and affordable way. A phased approach will be adopted. The point at which records are transferred to The National Archives (largely central government records) will be reduced from 2013 over a ten year transitional period, with two years worth of records being transferred to The National Archives every year until transition is complete. From 2023, when this transition is complete, we will transfer the single year’s worth of records which are caught by the ‘20 year rule’ each year. This first stage of the change will affect an estimated 3.3 million records and cost an estimated £34.7-£38.5 million over ten years.<br />
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We then intend to begin from 2015 a similar ten year transitional period for records transferred to 116 local authority places of deposit, subject to the outcome of further detailed work on costs and the impact to the local authority archive sector. Current estimates of the cost of the second phase are £5.6 million to £15 million over ten years. This will ensure that the ‘20 year rule’ is implemented in an affordable way that achieves the greatest level of transparency. <br />
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The maximum lifespan of a number of exemptions provided by the Freedom of Information Act will be reduced for all public authorities in parallel with the first transitional period. From 1 January 2014 the maximum duration of the following exemptions will reduce by one year per annum over a ten year period: sections 30 (investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities); 32 (court records); 33 (audit functions); 35 (formulation and development of government policy); 36 (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs), except in relation to Northern Ireland and the work of Executive Committee of Northern Ireland Assembly; and 42 (legal professional privilege).</blockquote>
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3001/contents/made">The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (Commencement No. 7) Order 2012</a> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3028/contents/made">The Public Records (Transfer to the Public Record Office) (Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2012</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3029/contents/made">The Freedom of Information (Definition of Historical Records) (Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2012</a><br />
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The two transitional orders will come into force on 1 January 2013 subject to annulment by a resolution of either House of Parliament, i.e. they will have effect unless they are specifically rejected.</div>
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Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-85361402794921970052012-12-14T13:01:00.001+00:002012-12-14T13:57:22.096+00:00Central government FOI performance Jul-Sept 2012The quarterly FOI statistics for central government for the period July to September 2012 (quarter 3 2012) have been <a href="http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation">published</a>. They show that the volume of requests to monitored bodies fell slightly - 2% less the equivalent period of 2011 and 1% less than the previous quarter of 2012. The executive summary notes:<br />
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Although there has been considerable quarter-on-quarter variation, monitored bodies have received a generally increasing number of requests since 2007. This has been driven by an increase in requests to Departments of State. However, there is some evidence the increase has slowed in the last two years. The peak in Q1 2012 was due to large rises in requests to the Department of Health and the Department of Work and Pensions, regarding controversial policies being introduced. Requests to the Department of Work and Pensions remain high, but requests to the Department of Health have returned to their Q4 2011 levels. </blockquote>
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Monitored bodies answered 87% requests within the statutory 20 working day deadline. For central government departments the figure was 85%. Departments answering less than 85% of requests within the Act's timescales face being monitored by the ICO (see the ICO's <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/~/media/documents/library/Freedom_of_Information/Notices/how_the_ico_selects_authorities_for_monitoring.ashx">criteria</a>). The last round of <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/monitoring_compliance.aspx">monitoring</a> by the ICO was April-June 2011, but it has said the next list of authorities will be announced before the end of the year.<br />
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Nine government departments answered less than 85% of requests in 20 working days, the most recent statistics show. The Wales Office had by far the worst performance. It answered only 54% in 20 working days despite receiving only 37 requests. The Department of Health has had a near perfect record on timeliness for the last 3 years. Since Q4 of 2009 it's answered at least 98% of requests in 20 working days. It managed to answer 100% of requests in 20 working days in Q1 of 2012 when it received double 1,077 requests, more than double the department receives on average. It would be interesting to know what factors, or combination of them, lie behind the Department's efficiency e.g. resources, experienced FOI team, or senior leadership.<br />
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The latest bulletin also comments that the proportion of requests granted in full has slowly reduced since the Act's introduction which it says "may reflect the changing nature of requests as the monitored bodies have made more routine information available to the public".<br />
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Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-85154401454035159162012-11-30T10:54:00.003+00:002012-11-30T10:54:35.250+00:00Media Update - 16th - 30th November 2012<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-20515611?">Attacks on Norfolk prison staff revealed</a> - BBC - 30.11.12<br />A prison officer was scalded on the face when a kettle of boiling water was thrown at him by an inmate at a Norfolk jail. This was one of 21 staff injury assault reports at Norfolk prisions between January 2011 and October 2012, a Freedom of Information request found.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/council-spending/9710885/Redacted-the-425-page-FOI-response-with-every-page-blacked-out.html">Redacted, the 425-page FOI response with every page blacked out</a> - The Telegraph - 29.11.12<br />Council officials have apologised after staff produced a 425-page Freedom of Information response with every page blacked out. The document was put together by staff at Brentwood Council in Essex after they received questions about a multi-million pound deal to build a cinema.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thisissussex.co.uk/story-17446465-detail/story.html?">Almost 100 children go missing from Crawley care homes in 24 months</a> - This is Sussex - 29.11.12<br />Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal 98 children disappeared while staying at care homes in Crawley between January 2010 and May 31 this year. Though all the children are believed to have been found safe, concerns have been raised at the potential risks to which they would have been exposed.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/28/nuclear-lobbyists-senior-civil-servants?">Nuclear lobbyists wined and dined senior civil servant, documents show</a> - The Guardian - 28.11.12<br />Senior civil servants responsible for ensuring the building of the UK's new fleet of nuclear power stations received hospitality from industry representatives at some of London's most luxurious restaurants, hotels and private members' clubs.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-20516797?">Scottish ministers drop royal secrecy plan</a> - BBC - 27.11.12<br />The Scottish government has dropped contentious plans to keep all communications between ministers and senior Royal Family members a secret. Ministers said the move would bring Scotland into line with the rest of the Uk, but changed their minds in light of concern over the proposals.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2238570/Scottish-NHS-dossier-reveals-failings-lead-death.html">Patient killed in oxygen explosion as a second dies in broken lift: Damning dossier reveals NHS failings that caused death</a> - Mail Online - 26.11.12<br />A shocking list of serious errors at NHS hospitals in Scotland has come to light, following a Freedom of Information request.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/nov/24/domestic-violence-emergency-calls-data?">Domestic violence accounts for 10% of emergency calls, data shows</a> - The Guardian - 24.11.12<br />One in 10 emergency calls to police are categorised as domestic violence related, rising in some areas to a fifth of all 999 alerts. The figures, obtained following a freedom of information requests, have prompted fresh demands for a long-term strategy to tackle Britain's "hidden crime."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.marketrasenmail.co.uk/news/local/market-rasen-s-seriously-ill-suffer-long-waits-for-help-from-nhs-1-4510053">Market Rasen's seriously ill suffer long waits for help from NHS</a> - Market Rasen Mail - 24.11.12<br />A Freedom of Information request submitted to East Midlands Ambulance Service revealed 148 people within a 12 mile radius of Market Rasen have had to wait more than half an hour for an ambulance in the past two years - even though they had life threatening conditions.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/west-midlands-police-officer-shot-332362?">West Midlands Police officer shot fellow cop in murder investigation</a> - Birmingham Mail - 24.11.12<br />A member of the highly-trained West Midlands firearms unit accidentally wounded a colleague when his gun went off during a murder raid. The incident was one of four occasions when officers mistakenly fired their weapons in the last two years. The most shocking case - revealed by a Freedom of Information request - happened during a joint operation with Thames Valley Police, who were investigating a murder.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/2012/nov/24/crowdsourcing-improvements-freedom-information-act?">Crowdsourcing improvements to the Freedom of Information Act</a> - The Guardian - 24.11.12<br />The government has launched an online consultation inviting feedback on the draft code of practice for authorities to follow on the enhanced the right to data under the Freedom of Information Act, which will be brought into force next year.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/10068431._/?">Three Rivers District Council pay £9m for botched William Penn Leisure Centre redevelopment</a> - Watford Observer - 23.11.12<br />The bungled construction of a leisure centre has been laid bare in documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/community/community-news/campaigner-we-could-save-lives-with-20mph-limit-1-4508570">Campaigner: we could save lives with 20 mph limit</a> - Suffolk Free Press - 23.11.12<br />A campaigner in Suffolk is urging council bosses to review its speed limits in towns and villages throughout the county, after a Freedom of Information request revealed that almost half of the 326 people killed or seriously injured on Suffolk's roads last year were in 30mph zones.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/359720?">NHS cuts back - but not on £500,000 junkets bill</a> - Express - 22.11.12<br />Health chiefs in Scotland have been criticised for spending more than £500,000 on foreign junkets, at time when savings need to be made. Employees enjoyed taxpayer-funded trips to Miami, Cape Town, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur for courses and conferences, according to details released under Freedom of Information laws.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20432445?">UKBA alerted over suspected sham civil partnerships</a> - BBC - 22.11.12<br />Since 2010 registrars have contacted immigration authorities on 49 occasions with suspicions relating to same-sex ceremonies involving foreign nationals, according to figures released following a Freedom of Information Act request.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/nov/21/anonymised-data-protection-code-freedom-of-information">New code of practice to minimise privacy risks in anonymised data</a> - The Guardian - 21.11.12<br />The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has announced a new data protection code of practice, which advises on how to protect the privacy rights of individuals while dealing with large and complex databases. With the increased use of such databases, especially those containing data on members of the public, comes a heightened risk of breaching the individual's right to privacy, even when such data is anonymised.<br /><br /> The ICO's announcement sets out best practice in ensuring anonymised data lives up to its name, ensuring that attempts to identify an individual from a public data-set will prove fruitless.<br /><br /> The code focuses on ensuring that new forms and quantities of data are managed within the legal framework of the Data Protection Act (DPA). In addition to the initial anonymisation process, those holding such data must consider the likelihood of re-identification, the process by which someone in possession of one data-set could combine it with one or more other sources of data to establish an individual's identity. This is of particular concern for organisations dealing with Freedom of Information Act requests, since such an organisation must decide whether the release of its data would breach the DPA. <br /><br /> The full code is available for reading <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2012/~/media/documents/library/Data_Protection/Practical_application/anonymisation_code.ashx">here</a><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/9691546/Five-wind-farm-applications-a-day-under-the-SNP.html">Five wind farm applications a day under the SNP</a> - The Telegraph - 21.11.12<br /> Figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives under the Freedom of Information Act show 5,528 planning applications for wind turbines have been made since May 2007, an average of five per day since Alex Salmond came to power.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-20414121?">SNP criticised over freedom of information attack</a> - BBC - 20.11.12<br />The SNP has attacked an unnamed individual who submitted a series of freedom of information requests. The party accused the person of wasting public money after making 85 freedom of information requests, at a cost of more than £23,000. In response opposition parties said ministers were in no position to criticise others after having spent £12,000 of taxpayers money in legal expenses to prevent having to reveal whether it had or had not commissioned advice on Scotland's future EU membership.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-20271644?">Hampshire Police spend £600k on empty Alpha Park office</a> - BBC - 20.11.12<br />More than £600,000 has been spent by Hampshire Police on a building which has stood empty for four years, a Freedom of Information request by the BBC has revealed. The force bought Alpha Park for £9.2m in 2008 and have spent an extra £638,379 keeping the building running since then.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/transport-news/2012/11/20/lights-switched-off-overnight-on-five-miles-of-m54/?">Lights switched off overnight on five miles of M54</a> - Shropshire Star - 20.11.12<br />Lights have been switched off or dimmed on more than 121 miles of motorway, including on a five mile stretch of the M54, according to a response to a Freedom of Information request by drivers' group the AA. The Highways Agency, which manages motorways, stressed that safety had not been compromised.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9689713/Hundreds-of-paedophiles-reoffend-while-being-monitored.html">Hundreds of paedophiles reoffend while bing monitored</a> - The Telegraph - 20.11.12<br /> Among those convicted of sex crimes against children, 941 have reoffended since they were subject to registration requirements, according to figures obtained under freedom of information laws by NSPCC. Jon Brown, of the children's charity, said, "Reoffending rates for sex offenders have risen in recent years, but until now we did not know how many of these involved the sexual abuse of children. From now on, we want a separate tab kept on the number of child sex offenders in this country and how many go on to abuse again." He said better information about paedophiles and reoffending rates would help protect children from abuse.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/19/mps-landlords-agents-list-released?">Identities of MPs' landlords and agents disclosed despite security concerns</a> - The Guardian - 19.11.12<br />Records containing the identities of many MPs' landlords have been published under the Freedom of Information Act, despite claims by some, including John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, that the move could jeopardise the security of those involved. The list of landlords and agents of 320 MPs who claimed rental expenses last month was released by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which said it had withheld some details where an MP or landlord had shown that the information could lead to their address being identified.<br /><br />See also: <div>
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<a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article3605802.ece">MPs were warned in advance of publication</a> - The Times - 20.11.12<br />A group of 51 MPs succeeded in keeping their landlords' names secret after arguing that publication could pose a security risk. Among those who won the right for their landlord's name to be redacted were Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, John Denham, a former labour minister, and Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP currently appearing on a television reality show. It transpired that MPs were given several weeks notice that their landlords' details would be published, giving them time to terminate any embarrassing arrangements.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-20392730?">No arrests in 85% of South Yorskshire fuel thefts</a> - BBC - 19.11.12<br />Figures show 85% of fuel thefts from petrol stations in South Yorshire remain unsolved. Action was taken against offenders in just 1,458 of 10,027 cases between 2007 and 2011. The figures were released by police after the BBC made a Freedom of Information request.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/MP-calls-for-tighter-controls-on-Tasers-19112012.htm?">MP calles for tighter controls on Tasers</a> - Cambridge News - 19.11.12<br /> Cambridge MP Julian Huppert has called for stricter controls on Tasers after figures obtained under freedom of information request reveal Cambridgeshire police shot 34 suspects in the chest with the weapons.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/latest-news/snp-accused-of-cover-up-over-funding-for-sick-kids-hospital-1-2644504?">SNP accused of cover-up over funding for Sick Kids hospital</a> - Edinburgh Evening News - 19.11.12<br />Finance arrangements for Edinburgh's new Sick Kids hospital obscure the true cost to NHS, it has been claimed. Although the business case for the project has been published under Freedom of Information powers, all the key figures have been redacted, leading one MSP to claim the public were being kept in the dark on whether the SNP's chosen funding method, using private finance, was best value for money. Private finance initiative expert, Mark Hellowell, a lecturer at Edinburgh University, said ministers were refusing to release the business case to try to hide what he claimed was the failure to deliver cheaper schemes.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/10056205._/?">Rise in number of teachers off work with stress</a> - The York Press - 19.11.12<br />The number of teachers off work with stress in York and North Yorkshire has risen sharply in the past five years, according to figures released by City of York Council under the Freedom of Information Act.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20343837?">Metal theft rises on West Midlands motorways</a> - BBC - 19.11.12<br />Nearly 150 metal theft incidents happened on West Midlands motorways in a year, the Highways Agency said. There were 149 incidents in the region in 2011-12, compared with seven in the previous year, a BBC Inside Out Freedom of Information request revealed.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2234956/Internet-porn-rape-suspects-aged-TEN.html?ito=feeds-newsxml">Internet porn and the rape suspects aged TEN: new fear for young after 24 police forces arrest under-13's for sex crimes in a year</a> - Mail Online - 18.11.12<br />Figures obtained by the Daily Mail under a freedom of information request reveal that 24 police forces arrested children as young as ten for suspected rape in the past year while seven detained at least one ten year old. The figures are said to highlight growing concern over the influence of internet pornography on impressionable young minds.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/9686305/Spanish-ships-have-entered-Gibraltar-waters-178-times-in-last-year.html">Spanish ships have entered Gibraltar waters 178 times in last year</a> - The Telegraph - 18.11.12<br />Spanish state vessels illegally entered the disputed waters around Gibraltar 178 times in the last year. Of the 42 formal written complaints to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2008, half were submitted in the last 12 months. Figures released following Freedom of Information requests by the Press Association show the number of unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar waters in the year to end of October 2012 was far higher than in previous years.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20377493">Children held in police cells under Mental Health Act</a> - BBC - 18.11.12<br />Children as young as 11 were held in police cells in England and Wales in 2011 because police officers thought they were mentally ill. There were 347 such detentions, some for more than 24 hours. The Mental Health Act allows police to take anyone they suspect of being mentally ill in "need of care or control" to a safe place for assessment. Children detained by police had not necessarily committed any crimes. The Department for Health said it was developing better procedures to ensure young people get appropriate care. The Association of Chief Police Officers says, in some parts of the UK, cells are the only option.</div>
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<br />Interviewed about this disclosure on The World This Weekend the health minister, Norman Lamb twice said he was grateful that this issue had been brought to his attention. Listen to the interview <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nx3pf">here</a> (starts 16 mins in). <br /><br /> <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/creative-scotland-comes-clean-on-300k-funding-for-film-flop.19443065?">Creative Scotland comes clean of £300k funding for film flop</a> - Herald Scotland - 18.11.12<br />National arts agency, Creative Scotland, has been forced to accept it made a mistake in funding the film Love Bite, which flopped at the box office. The agency had initially tried to blame its predecessor, Scottish Screen, by claiming that investment was committed prior to the establishment of Creative Scotland. However, a freedom of information request revealed this to be untrue.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/number-of-children-missing-in-london-up-by-a-third-8322791.html">Number of children missing in London up by a third</a> - London Evening Standard - 16.11.12<br />The number of children going missing in London has shot up by more than one third in three years, according to statistics obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.bostonstandard.co.uk/news/local/revealed-how-much-you-forked-out-for-high-paid-council-chief-s-rail-taxi-and-hotel-bills-1-4489164">Revealed: How much you forked out for high-paid council chief's rail, taxi and hotel bills</a> - Boston Standard - 16.11.12<br />The man hired as financial troubleshooter by Boston Borough Council claimed more than £16,000 in rail, taxi and hotel expenses in a year.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/postfeatures/2012/11/16/footpaths-are-in-danger-due-to-cutbacks-65233-32231674/?">Footpaths are in danger due to cutbacks</a> - Birmingham Post - 16.11.12<br />The Ramblers Association has launched a campaign after research based on freedom of information requests identified cuts to councils to rights-of-way departments. The Association fears that such departments may be seen as easy targets for cuts because the public may not notice funding has been withdrawn for some years.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03787789036125822123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-40422363611492646462012-11-28T12:41:00.001+00:002012-11-28T19:41:29.408+00:00FOI to remain 'requester-blind', charges for requests rejected<div>
The Local Government minister, Brandon Lewis, has <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121127/text/121127w0001.htm#12112798006540">confirmed</a> that the Government has no plans to change the 'requester-blind' principle on which the Freedom of Information Act is based and has rejected calls for charges to be introduced for making requests. </div>
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Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that local authorities should either refuse or levy a charge on applications under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which seek to extract information on planning and other matters for commercial purposes; and if he will make a statement.<br />
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Brandon Lewis: Local authorities are public bodies in their own right under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and the Department does not interfere with local authorities carrying out their obligations under this legislation. The legislation is 'requester-blind', and there are no plans to change this. It would therefore not be appropriate or practical to charge some requesters and not others.<br />
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The Freedom of Information Act already contains a suitable charging routine and local authorities must abide by this. The recent scrutiny of the Act by the Justice Select Committee considered the charging regime in some detail, and did not recommend any changes. In particular it recommended maintaining the principle of requester blindness and that public authorities should not be given the power to charge some requesters and not others.<br />
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Ministers have previously received representations from local authorities asking for powers to introduce new charges for freedom of information requests; we have rejected such an approach. If town halls want to reduce the amount they spend on responding to freedom of information requests, they should consider making the information freely available in the first place.<br />
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Indeed, this Government's Open Data agenda seeks to open up public sector information rather than restrict it. The local government transparency code issued by my Department calls for councils to publish a wide range of data in an open and standardised format, for re-use and re-publication by anyone: from individuals, to voluntary sector to commercial organisations. Open and standardised formats allow creative use of data. For example, OpenlyLocal is seeking to build an open national database of planning applications.</blockquote>
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Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-82863359254567143732012-11-27T16:46:00.001+00:002012-11-27T16:53:02.152+00:00Scottish Government to remove absolute exemption for Royal communications from FOI BillThe Scottish Government has <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2012/11/FOI-amends">announced</a> its intention to remove the absolute exemption for information relating to communications with the Queen, the Heir and the second in line to the throne from its <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/51531.aspx">Freedom of Information (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill</a>. In its <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_FinanceCommittee/Reports/fir-12-06w.pdf">Stage 1 report</a> on the Bill the Scottish Parliament's Finance Committee said it "remained unconvinced of the need" for the provision, having received "substantial evidence" from witnesses including the Scottish Information Commissioner and Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland (see earlier <a href="http://foia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/scottish-parliament-finance-committee.html">post</a>).<br />
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The Government also outlined a further amendment which will place new obligations on Scottish Ministers to regularly review extending the scope of the legislation to cover additional bodies, and the range of organisations who are consulted when considering extensions through Section 5 of the Act will be widened.<br />
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Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon said:<br />
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We've carefully considered the views of the Finance Committee, the Scottish Information Commissioner and other stakeholders and we are lodging two key amendments today which will help to make our procedures here in Scotland even stronger.<br />
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Having carefully considered the report of the Finance Committee, we have concluded that the principle of public interest as regards Royal communications should be maintained. As a result, and subject to the views of the Parliament, we are now proposing that there should be no absolute exemption for information relating to communications with senior members of the Royal Family.<br />
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We remain firmly of the view that communications between Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family with Scottish Ministers - and other public authorities - should be handled sensitively and confidentially, with strict and appropriate application of the exemptions contained within the current Freedom of Information Act.<br />
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I also believe that the scope of bodies covered by Freedom of Information must be kept under regular review to ensure that the regime remains robust and relevant. Our amendments aim to do just that.</blockquote>
The Bill will be considered by the <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/29822.aspx">Finance Committee</a> at Stage 2 on 5 December.Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-86622306367579829562012-11-26T12:02:00.000+00:002012-11-26T12:12:20.164+00:00Human Rights Committee concerned new National Crime Agency will be exempt from FOI<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/human-rights-committee/">The Joint Committee on Human Rights</a> (JCHR) has published a <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt201213/jtselect/jtrights/67/6702.htm">Report</a> on the <a href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/crimeandcourts.html">Crime and Courts Bill </a>which will be considered at Report stage in the House of Lords from Tuesday 27 November. In its Report the Committee expresses concern that the new National Crime Agency to be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act:<br />
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19. The Bill provides for the NCA to be exempt from freedom of information ("FOI") legislation. The NCA's predecessor, the Serious Organised Crime Agency ("SOCA") was similarly exempt from the FOI Act, but the functions which the NCA will take on from the UK Border Agency and the National Policing Improvement Agency were not previously exempt.<br />
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20. We asked the Government for its justification for excluding from the scope of the FOI legislation functions which were formerly within the scope of that legislation. The Government's response is that the functions transferring into the NCA which were formerly within the scope of FOI legislation are expected to make up only a small part of the Agency (about 8% of staff and 5% of budget), and it is not considered possible to ring-fence the functions of the precursor agencies for the purposes of the application of FOI legislation. This, the Government explains, is because the NCA is being designed as an integrated whole—to ensure a free flow of information between the central intelligence hub and all parts of the Agency, and it would defeat the purpose of such an approach if individual parts had to be cordoned off as subject to the FOI Act. Precursor units are also considered to be unlikely to be clearly identifiable as distinct entities within the new NCA.<br />
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21. The Government also states that it is committed to ensuring that the NCA will be transparent, notwithstanding that FOI legislation will not apply to it. The Director General will be under a statutory duty to make arrangements for publishing information about the exercise of NCA functions, and the sorts of information that will be published will be set out in the NCA's Framework Document, which will itself be published and laid before Parliament. The Government expects that as a result the NCA will in fact publish more information than its predecessors.<br />
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22. We are not convinced by the Government's justification for reducing the coverage of freedom of information legislation by including within the NCA exemption functions which were previously covered by that legislation. We are concerned that reducing the coverage of this legislation in this way could create a dangerous precedent. It is not uncommon for this legislation to apply to certain of an organisation's functions but not others, and we need a good deal more evidence from the Government to persuade us why the NCA should be any different.</blockquote>
During the Bill's Committee stage in the House of Lords, Baroness Hamwee <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201213/ldhansrd/text/120618-0003.htm#1206192000013">moved</a> an amendment to to make the NCA subject to the FOI Act. Following a reply from the Home Office minister, Lord Henley, the Baroness said "I am afraid that I remain unconvinced" that the NCA "should be exempt in its totality". She withdrew the amendment but said "this issue justifies further examination". Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-21839720421326665672012-11-22T12:39:00.000+00:002012-11-22T12:42:23.181+00:00Consultation on the new draft code of practice on datasetsThe Cabinet Office is <a href="http://data.gov.uk/blog/call-for-views-on-the-new-draft-code-of-practice-for-datasets">consulting</a> on a new code of practice on the new provisions in the Freedom of Information Act inserted by the Protection of Freedoms Act that enhance the right to data. These new provisions on datasets will be commenced in April 2013. The Code of Practice (datasets) will sit alongside the existing <a href="http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/code-of-practice">Section 45 Code of Practice</a> on the Freedom of Information Act.<br />
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The public have always been able to request datasets under the Freedom of Information Act however, provisions relating to their disclosure and re-use conditions have developed in a piecemeal way. The aim of the new provisions in the Act is to consolidate the complex landscape around the release of datasets for use and re-use and for this new code to make public authorities aware of their new responsibilities, to reduce potential confusion and bring clarity to what is expected of public authorities undertaking their new duties.<br />
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This new draft Code of Practice (datasets) aims to make it clear as to what is meant by the terms set out in the new provisions in the FOI Act. For example, what is meant by “an electronic form which is capable of re-use” or a “re-usable format” for the purposes of the Act. Over the last few months, the Cabinet Office has prepared this draft alongside the Ministry of Justice, the National Archives and the Information Commissioners Office. As committed to in the Open Data White Paper, we are now holding an online consultation to hear your views and comments on where the code can be improved or expanded upon so it provides the best guidance possible to public authorities who will in future rely on it as they carry out their new duties. </blockquote>
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The new draft code also outlines the licensing framework in which public authorities must use when making their datasets available for re-use. Together with the Open Government Licence, which the draft code encourages public authorities to use, and the Non-Commercial Government Licence, a new licence has been drafted for potential use by public authorities that have reason to charge for the re-use of the dataset they hold or produce. This new licence, it’s working title the ‘Charged Licence’ will form a suite of ‘specified licences’ provided for in the new datasets provisions of the FOI Act. The National Archives today published the licence in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/a%20href=%22http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/government-licensing/charged-licence.htm">beta form</a> and alongside the consultation for the new Code of Practice (datasets) and they are interested in receiving comments on the licence as to whether the simplified terms and conditions adequately meet the requirements of licensors and re-users alike, as well as feedback on the working title of the new licence.</blockquote>
The consultation ends on 10th January 2013. Responses can be submitted online or sent to <a href="mailto:transparency.strategy@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk">transparency.strategy@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk</a><br />
<a href="mailto:transparency.strategy@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk"><br /></a>
<a href="mailto:transparency.strategy@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk">Comments on the beta licence should be sent to the Information Policy Team at the National Archives at </a><a href="mailto:psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk">psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk</a> by 10 January 2013.</div>
Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284911.post-33658265696400075032012-11-16T15:06:00.004+00:002012-11-16T15:07:18.345+00:00Changing notions of privacy - call for papersI have been asked to post the following call for papers for the Fifth Northumbria Information Rights Conference which will take place on Wednesday 1 May 2013 at the Centre for Life, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.<br />
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The theme of the conference will be “Changing notions of privacy”. Our aim is both to explore developing understandings of privacy, and the tensions that exist between privacy, openness and freedom of expression.<br />
<br />The following topics will be explored within the overall theme, and papers will be grouped for presentation accordingly: <br />
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<li>What is privacy? </li>
<li>Privacy v freedom of expression </li>
<li>Technology and the challenges of protecting privacy </li>
<li>Privacy in a commercial context </li>
<li>Privacy and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 </li>
<li>Privacy or openness </li>
<li>Privacy and the Data Protection Act 1998 </li>
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This call is open to academics, postgraduate students and practitioners from all disciplines, but particularly law, politics, information science and records management. Those interested in presenting a paper are invited to submit abstracts to the conference administrator <a href="mailto:maureen.cooke@northumbria.ac.uk">Maureen Cooke</a>. We particularly welcome abstracts which fall within the above themes, however, we will also consider abstracts which do not fall within these themes but which are nonetheless relevant to the overall theme.<br />
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Abstracts should be submitted by 7th December 2012. They should not exceed 300 words. Submission must be by Word document e-mail attachment to <a href="mailto:maureen.cooke@northumbria.ac.uk">Maureen Cooke</a> at the email address shown above and should include, in addition to the abstract, your title, name and organisation/institutional affiliation and your email address for correspondence.<br />
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All proposals will be reviewed, and successful applicants will be notified at the latest by 21st December 2012. Each speaker whose abstract is accepted will be allotted 20 minutes for presentation of their paper plus time for round-table discussion.<br />
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Please note that speakers will not be exempt from the registration fee for the conference but will be entitled to the early registration discount. A booking form with full registration fees will be available early in 2012. Please contact <a href="mailto:maureen.cooke@northumbria.ac.uk">Maureen Cooke</a> for any general enquiries about the conference or telephone 0191 243 7597</blockquote>Katherine Gundersenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14116535915995276101noreply@blogger.com0