 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.
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