Freedom of Information

Welcome to the
Campaign for Freedom of Information

 

logo

 

The Campaign for Freedom of Information is a non-profit organisation working to improve public access to official information and ensure that the Freedom of Information Act is implemented effectively.

The Campaign was set-up in 1984, played a leading role in the passage of the FOI Act and is recognised as a leading independent authority in the field. We provide advice to individuals in exercising their rights to information. We provide training both for public authorities implementing the Act and for users of the legislation. Please contact us for more details.

We are not affiliated to any political party. Our main funding comes from charitable sources including the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Allen Lane Foundation, the Nuffield Foundation, the GW Cadbury Charitable Trust and from supporting organisations and individuals. We are also grateful for a one off donation from Freedom to Care.

If you believe Britain is too secretive a society, please support our work by making a donation. Your contribution will make a difference and be greatly appreciated.

If you can help by volunteering in our London office please get in touch as we often need extra help with campaigning, research projects and general office administration.

Follow the Campaign for Freedom of Information on Twittter at http://twitter.com/CampaignFOI

 

The Campaign has published a users' guide to the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and rights to see personal data about you held by public authorities. The guide covers both the UK and Scottish legislation.

 

The Campaign is now running the UK Freedom of Information Blog, providing updates on the latest FOI developments.

 

Are you a lawyer able to provide pro bono assistance to people representing themselves in FOI tribunal cases? If so, the Campaign would welcome hearing from you. Please get in touch at: admin@cfoi.demon.co.uk or write to us at the address at the bottom of the page.

 

The Campaign's next 'Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions' course will be in London on 28 June 2012. The course, now is its 7th year, deals only with significant decisions and does not repeat material covered in previous courses. It aims to help experienced FOI practitioners and others with a good working knowledge of the FOI Act keep abreast of new developments and is not an introduction to FOI. Its exact content is dependent on the decisions that have been issued during the last six months, but typically covers issues such as: "fair" and "unfair" disclosures of personal data; the FOI/EIR border; 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 and the cost limit, aggregating requests, advice & assistance and other administrative provisions. The course is presented by the Campaign's director, Maurice Frankel, who has worked in the field for 28 years. Significant discounts are available for more than one booking from the same organisation.

The Information Commissioner's decision that emails dealing with government business sent by the Education Secretary Michael Gove using a private account are subject to the FOI Act was welcomed by the Campaign.

The Campaign has submitted written evidence to the Justice Committee's post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act. The submission is divided into three parts. The first describes some areas where the FOI Act and Environmental Information Regulations are not working as well as they should. It suggests a number of improvements such as the introduction of more specific time limits for responding to requests and dealing with internal reviews and the lifting os some absolute exemptions. The second deals with the contracting out of public authority functions to bodies which are not subject to the Act. Recent measures to encourage this process are likely to substantially undermine the public's rights to information. The third responds to suggestions that changes to the right of access may be introduced to protect cabinet papers, to introduce fees for FOI requests or make it easier for public authorities to refuse requests on cost grounds. The Campaign also gave oral evidence at the Committee's first evidence session on 21 February 2012. You can watch a recording of the session here.

-> In this podcast produced by the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, the Campaign talks to Nicholas Jones about new threats to the Freedom of Information Act and its fear that the review of the Act - which is being conducted by the House of Commons Justice Committee - could be used by the coalition government to impose new restrictions and exemptions.

-> The Campaign has written to The Times responding to an article by Matthew Parris on the recent disclosure of the names of those who had refused honours under the Freedom of Information Act.

-> The Campaign has written to The Times responding to comments made by Sir Gus O'Donnell, the outgoing cabinet secretary, that the Freedom of Information Act should be amended to provide greater protection for cabinet discussions.

-> The Campaign is holding a briefing meeting on the future of the Freedom of Information Act on Wednesday 18 January at 2 pm, for those considering giving evidence to the Justice Committee's inquiry on post-legislative scrutiny of the Act. The Committee is likely to recommend changes to the law. This could be an important opportunity to improve the Act. But there will also be significant pressure for new restrictions from public authorities concerned about the cost of dealing with FOI requests or lobbying for new exemptions. The Campaign is strongly encouraging requesters to submit evidence about their experiences to the Committee.

-> The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland is providing a half-day training course on 'Scottish Information Commissioner Decisions' in Glasgow on 20 March 2012 and in Aberdeen on 21 March 2012. The course is aimed at FOI practitioners and those with a good working knowledge of the legislation. It highlights the latest developments in the way the exemptions, public interest test and the legislation's procedural requirements are being interpreted. The course is presented by the Campaign's director, Maurice Frankel, who has worked in the field for 27 years. It will cover the most significant decisions issued since our last course in February 2011.

->The Campaign has welcomed new guidance published by the Information Commissioner confirming that emails dealing with public authority business sent using private email accounts are subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

->The Campaign has responded to the Cabinet Office's 'Making Open Data Real' consultation. The response emphasises the extent to which the government's vision of improvements to accountability, service quality, efficiency, choice and citizen empowerment depend on the FOI Act, since (a) although datasets may highlight discrepancies in performance, the FOI Act is needed to understand what is behind them and (b) the dataset provisions are being implemented for public authorities by amendments to the FOI Act itself. It points out that both the FOI Act and the dataset proposals will be undermined by the contracting out provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill and the Localism Bill. It also argues that the abuse of copyright restrictions, which the government's amendments address, is not restricted to datasets but applies to ordinary disclosures under the FOI Act.

->The Campaign has written to the Deputy Commissioner, David Smith, raising a number of concerns about the Information Commissioner's data protection guidance on 'Access to Information Held in Complaints Files'. David Smith has now replied to the letter, saying that the Campaign's comments will be taken into account should the guidance be revised.

-> The Campaign has written to the health secretary Andrew Lansley expressing concern that FOI rights are likely to be "significantly curtailed" by the NHS reforms. The health minister, Lord Howe, has now replied to the Campaign's letter saying that the issues it raises will be examined in the context of a forthcoming review. It says that where possible the government will push to ensure that where functions are contracted out "the coverage of FOIA is maintained."

->The Campaign has called for the Information Commissioner's powers to prosecute authorities or officials who destroy information to prevent its release under the Freedom of Information to be strengthened.

-> Using the FOI Act, London 8 December 2011

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 Information Tribunal are interpreting its key provisions? The Campaign is running a training course for FOI requesters in London on Thursday 8 December 2011. The course is divided into two parts. The morning session provides an introduction to the legislation for those who are new to it, covering both the Freedom of Information Act and the parallel Environmental Information Regulations. The afternoon session is more advanced and will examine some of the key decisions made under the two regimes and explain how they can help you obtain information. We think most people will benefit from attending the whole day, but experienced requesters may prefer to attend just the afternoon. Further information and details on how to book here.

-> Campaign welcomes government plans for greater disclosure of data, but expresses concern that contracting out will encourage secrecy.

->This evidence to the Commons' committee dealing with the Protection of Freedoms Bill expresses concern that the measures to remove copyright restrictions on datasets can be easily circumvented and calls for copyright to be removed on all information released under the FOI Act, except material which an authority is commercially exploiting. This follows the Campaign's oral evidence to the Committee on 24 March. You can watch the evidence session here or read a transcript of it here.

->This note setting out the Campaign's views was submitted to the Protection of Freedoms Bill Committee in advance of the Campaign giving oral evidence on the Bill on 24 March 2010.

->The Campaign's next half-day course on 'Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions' will be in London on 19 May 2011. The course, which is aimed at those with a good working knowledge of the legislation, highlights the latest developments in the way the main exemptions, the public interest test and the legislation's procedural requirements are being interpreted. The course is presented by the Campaign's director, Maurice Frankel, who has worked in the field for 27 years. It will cover the most significant decisions issued since our last course in November 2010. The content will therefore depend on the cases that have been decided, but the course typically addresses issues such as: "fair" and "unfair" disclosures of personal data, the FOI/EIR border, the application of specific exemptions including those for breach of confidence and commercial interests, where the public interest line is being drawn and the cost limit, advice & assistance and other administrative provisions.

->The Campaign has published a short submission it made to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) on an aspect of the FOI Act's public interest test. This argues that the public interest test can include the potential benefit from disclosure to the public in countries other than the UK and is not limited to the benefits to the UK public only, as the Information Commissioner had argued.

-> Press release welcoming the FOI changes in the Protection of Freedoms Bill but calling for them to be extended.

-> Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland "disappointed and astonished" at Scottish Government's freedom of information "retreat". Full press release.

-> Press release welcoming the coalition government's proposed extension of the FOI Act but regrets that Network Rail and contractors escape scrutiny.

-> The Campaign has responded to the Ministry of Justice's Call for Evidence on the Current Data Protection Legislative Framework. The response highlights the substantial discrepancies between the rights of individuals to see their own personal data under the Data Protection Act and the rights of any member of the public to obtain official information under the Freedom of Information Act. It also deals with an apparent obstacle to the release under the FOI Act of anonymised statistics derived from personal data.

-> The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland has responded to the Scottish Government's consultation on extending the coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act.

You can be notified by E-mail when we update this site.


 


 

Click below for further information.

FoI & Open Govt Personal Files Saltire FoI Abroad
FoI &
Open Govt
Access to
Personal Files
FoI in Scotland FoI Overseas

 

 

 

 

New Stuff Press Releases Events Links
Latest Additions! Press Releases Events Links to
related sites

 

 

 

 

Local Govt Whistleblowing Environment & Safety Info Secrecy EGs
Local Government Whistleblowing Environmental
& Safety Info
Secrecy Examples

 

 

 

 

Publications Letters and Evidence About the CFoI Support Us!
Publications List Letters & Evidence About the
Campaign
Support the
Campaign!

 

Copyright Except where otherwise indicated the materials on the site are the copyright of the Campaign for Freedom of Information. You are welcome to reproduce any of the Campaign's materials provided that (a) the authorship of the Campaign for Freedom of Information is acknowledged and (b) they are not sold or included in a publication for which a charge is made without the Campaign's prior agreement.

 


The Campaign for Freedom of Information
Suite 102
16 Baldwins Gardens
London EC1N 7RJ

Tel: 020 7831 7477
Fax: 020 7831 7461
Email: admin@cfoi.demon.co.uk