 Long
delays by the Information Commissioner's Office in
investigating freedom of information complaints are
undermining the effectiveness of the FOI Act, according
to a new report by the Campaign. The report analyses
nearly 500 formal decision notices issued by the
ICO in the 18 months to 31 March 2009. It finds that
on average it took 19.7 months from the date of a
complaint to the ICO to the date on which the ICO's
decision was issued. It also shows that 46% of
cases took between 1 and 2 years from complaint to
decision notice and 30% took more than 2 years to
a decision. The report also found that on average
the ICO's investigation into
a complaint
did not begin until 8 months after the
complaint had been received. In 28% of cases, there
was a delay of more than a year before the investigation
began. The report is published in two parts, a report plus
a table providing
data on all 493 decision notices considered in the
study. Read the accompanying press
release here.
 The
information on MPs' allowances published by the
House of Commons would have made it impossible to
detect
the most serious abuses revealed by the Daily Telegraph,
the Campaign for Freedom of Information said. Read
the press release.
The
Campaign for Freedom of Information has welcomed
the Prime Minister's announcement that the Freedom
of Information Act would be extended to additional
bodies and that the 30 year period before old official
papers are made public would be reduced to 20 years.
However, it expressed serious concern at Mr Brown's
announcement that new exemptions to the Freedom of
Information Act would be introduced for Cabinet Papers
and for information relating to the Royal Family.
Read the press release.
The
Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland is
running a half-day training course on 'Scottish
Information Commissioner Decisions' in Glasgow on 14
September 2009 and Aberdeen on 15
September 2009. The course, which is aimed
at those with a good working knowledge of the
legislation, highlights key developments in the
way the main exemptions, the public interest test
and
the legislation's procedural requirements are being
interpreted. Download the course leaflet and booking
form here.
The
Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland has
responded to
the Scottish Government's discussion paper on extending
the scope of the Freedom of Information (Scotland)
Act.
The Campaign
supports the extension in the scope of the Act to
bodies with public functions and to contractors
providing
services
on behalf of Scottish public authorities. It also
calls for the Association of Chief Police Officers
in Scotland, which plays a key role in policing decisions
to be brought under FOISA in its own right.
This
press release says
the government's decision to veto the release of
the Iraq cabinet minutes is an "extremely
retrograde" step. The Campaign said the government
should have abided by the Information Tribunal's
decision on
the release of the cabinet minutes - or appealed
against
it, but not overruled it. The Campaign also expressed
serious concern at the statement of Jack Straw,
the Justice Secretary, that the government was
actively
considering widening some of the Freedom of Information
Act's exemptions, to make it easier to withhold
official information.
The
Campaign is running a half-day training course
on 'Information Commissioner & Tribunal
Decisions' in London on 27
April 2009 and Birmingham
on 30 April 2009.
Download the course leaflet and booking
form here.
The
Campaign has welcomed proposals to halve the "30
year rule" and automatically release government
records after 15 years. The proposals
are made by a committed chaired by Paul
Dacre, editor
in chief
of Associated
Newspapers, which had been asked to review the
30 year rule by the Prime Minister. However, the
Campaign
expressed reservations about the proposal that
the names of
civil servants should normally be blacked out from
released documents, which it said conflicted with
rulings of the Information Commissioner and Information
Tribunal. Read the press
release.
This
press release says
the Government
should 'live with' the Information Tribunal's decision,
published on 27 January 2009,
and release the two sets of cabinet minutes from
2003 discussing the
decision
to go to
war in
Iraq. The Tribunal's decision, made under the Freedom
of Information Act, found that the balance of public
interest favoured disclosure.
Press
release welcoming the government's decision
to shelve "improper" attempt to conceal
MPs' expenses.
Parliamentary
briefing urging MPs and peers to vote against the
proposal to exclude information about their expenses
from the Freedom of Information Act.
The
Campaign is urging its supporters to write to their
MPs opposing the Government's move to exclude MPs'
expenses from the FOI Act. The measure is being rushed
through Parliament at extraordinary speed with no
public consultation or advance notice. You can read
more about the proposal on our website here.
The
Campaign is running two half-day training
courses for FOI requesters on 13 January
2009.
The morning course will provide an introduction
to legislation, covering both the Freedom
of Information Act and the parallel Environmental
Information Regulations. The afternoon course will
examine some of the key decisions made under the
two regimes and explain how they can help you obtain
information. Requesters can attend either or both
courses, which will be in central London.
A letter from
Maurice Frankel published in The Times on
4 December 2008 points out that the kind of leaks
involved in the Damian Green affair were of information
of a kind deliberately removed from the scope of
the Official Secrets Act 1989 which intended that
such matters be dealt with as a disciplinary rather
than a criminal matter.
This
short briefing on
delays in investigating FOI complaints by the Information
Commissioner's Office was circulated to MPs in advance
of a debate in the House of Commons on 24 November
2008.
A
new report by
the Campaign summarises more than 1,000 press stories
based on
disclosures under the UK and Scottish FOI acts
in 2006 and 2007.
The
stories
demonstrate
the
enormous
range
of information being
released
under FOI and reveal the substantial contribution
to accountability made
by the acts. In 2006, the government proposed
to restrict the UK FOI Act, partly because of what
it
said was excessive use of the Act being made by
journalists.
The report shows how valuable the press's use of
FOI has been. The proposals were dropped by Gordon
Brown after he became prime minister in 2007. (Note:
the report
is 250 pages and may take a little while
to
download).
This
article,
published in Press Gazette on 2 May 2008, reviews
the Information Tribunal's recent decisions
on access to policy advice showing that it has
required disclosure
only a short time after the relevant government
decision has been taken. Despite two High Court
challenges,
the
government
has failed
to overturn the Tribunal's approach.
The
Campaign has responded to
the review of the 30 year rule set up by the Prime
Minister.
It summarises the 7 Information Tribunal decisions
to date dealing with advice or internal discussion
and
points out that
in almost
every case the Tribunal has held that disclosure
should have taken place at the time of the request,
a few years or a few months after the decision.
It says
that this material should now be proactively
released after 15 years, though if necessary, the
reduction could be brought in in two stages, starting
with 20 years initially. This change would also mean
that these exemptions
could no longer be
used
to withhold
information under the FOI Act once it was 15 (or
20) years old.
This letter commenting
on the Information Commissioner's criticism of a
health
trust for failing to meet its obligations under
the FOI
Act, has been published in Health Service Journal.
This
article about
two recent High Court cases on access to policy
advice under the FOI Act,
appeared
in The
Independent on 28 March
2008.
High Court upholds Information Tribunal EIR decision.
The High Court has dismissed the government's
appeal against the Information Tribunal in
the first case of its kind under the Environmental
Information Regulations. Read
more.
The
Campaign has responded to
the government's consultation on extending the FOI
Act to certain kinds of private bodies. An accompanying
press release is here.
The
Campaign has welcomed the
Information Commissioner’s decision that
cabinet minutes dealing with the war in Iraq should
be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act.
The
Campaign welcomed a
vote in the House of Lords to bring Northern Rock
within the scope of
the Freedom
of Information Act. (Note: this was later
reversed in the House of Commons).
The
Campaign has issued a press
release welcoming the
positive moves on Freedom of Information announced
by the government on 25 October 2007.
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