Freedom of Information : This page has been downloaded from the Campaign for Freedom of Information "http://www.cfoi.org.uk/newstuff.html"

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	Response to the Scottish Government's consultation on a revised FOI good practice code
	The Campaign for Freedom of Information has responded to the Scottish Government's consultation on revising its code of good practice under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act. The response expresses concern that the draft code's approach to requests which are phrased in terms of 'documents' rather than 'information' is restrictive and undermines the Scottish Information Commissioner's guidance on this issue. It suggests that the guidance on the provision of advice and assistance could be strengthened; that the loss of specific Scottish Government guidance on the EIRs may have unintended consequences; that the draft may lead to confusion between the FOISA exemptions on breach of confidence and substantial prejudice to commercial interests. It also says authorities should not be entitled to ignore a request for internal review which has not been made to a designated person. Added 18 May 2010.
	Using the FOI Act! Training for new & experienced requesters
	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 central London on 16 September 2010. The course is divided into two parts. The morning part 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 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 very experienced requesters may prefer to attend just the afternoon. Further information and details on how to book here. Added 22 February 2010.
	Ministry of Justice's freedom of information statistics
	The Campaign has responded to a request from the UK Statistics Authority for its views on the adequacy of the Ministry of Justice's freedom of information statistics. Added 5 February 2010.
	Time limit for prosecution of offences under section 77 of the FOI Act
	The Information Commissioner's Office has commented on the University of East Anglia's handling of FOI requests for climate data, pointing out that, although the deliberate destruction of requested records is an offence, no prosecution could be considered as there is a 6 month limit for doing so. In July 2009, the Campaign promoted an amendment to the FOI Act to extend this 6 month limit, but the government rejected it. This note explains the background. Added 29 January 2010.
	'Information Commissioner & Tribunal decisions - what do they mean in practice?'
	The Campaign's next half-day course on 'Information Commissioner & Tribunal decisions' will be in London on 7 June 2010. This 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 26 years. It will cover the most significant decisions issued since our last course in November 2009. The content will therefore vary, depending 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, where the public interest line is being drawn and the cost limit, advice & assistance and other administrative provisions. Added 2 February 2010.
	Chapter on the passage of the FOI Act
	This chapter by Katherine Gundersen describes the passage of the FOI Act and early experience of its operation. It first appeared as part of as part of Unlocking Democracy: 20 years of Charter 88, published by Politico's in December 2008. Added 17 December 2009
	Back issues of Secrets newspaper
	To mark the 25th anniversary of the Campaign (it was launched in January 1984), the Campaign has published back issues of its Secrets newspaper which appeared between 1984 and 1993. The newspapers, which may be of interest to people studying the history of freedom of information in the UK, start by describing the position of the party leaders at the time - Neil Kinnock, David Steel, David Owen and the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. They document the secrecy problems that prompted demands for a FOI Act, the progress of various private members bills promoted by the Campaign, the causes celebre of the time including the Pointing and Tisdall official secrets prosecutions and the Freedom of Information Awards given to public authorities which voluntarily opened their files to the public without being forced to do so. Added 17 December 2009
	Government uses FOI veto again
	The government has used its veto to block disclosure for the second time. The case involves a request for 1997 minutes of the cabinet committee dealing with devolution. Remarkably the government was in the process of appealing to the Information Tribunal against the Commissioner's decision, but has dropped the appeal and vetoed the decision instead. Added 11 December 2009
	Government plans to extend FOI Act "disappointingly modest"
	Press release saying the government's plans to extend the Freedom of Information Act to just 4 bodies or classes of organisation is "a useful but disappointingly modest result". Added 16 July 2009
	"Severe delays" in investigating freedom of information complaints "undermining" FOI Act
	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 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. An accompanying press release is here. Added 3 July 2009
	Commons' publication conceals abuses
	Press release saying 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 over recent weeks. Added 18 June 2009
	Concern over new freedom of information exemptions
	Press release welcoming 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. Added 10 June 2009
	Extending the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
	Response to the Scottish Government's discussion paper on the possible extension in coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act. Added 5 March 2009
	Iraq veto decision "extremely retrograde"
	Press release saying 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 statment of Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, that the government was actively considering widening some of the Fredom of Information Act's exemptions, to make it easier to withhold official information. Added 24 February 2009
	Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions Course
	The Campaign is running a half-day course on 'Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions' in London on 27 April 2009 and Birmingham on 30 April 2009. The course, which is aimed at those with a good working knowledge of the legislation, highlights key developments in the way the way the main exemptions, the public interest test and the legislation's procedural requirements are being interpreted. Added 11 February 2009
	Welcome for proposal to halve "30 year rule"
	Press release welcoming proposals to release government records after 15 years instead of the present 30 year period. However, the Campaign expressed reservations about the proposal that the names of civil servants should normally be blacked out from released documents. The Campaign said this conflicted with rulings of the Information Commissioner and the Information Tribunal which held that the identities of senior officials should normally disclosed, in the interests of accountability, unless there was a risk to the, or some other specific reason to conceal their identity and that anonymity was generally appropriate only for junior officials. Added 29 January 2009
	Government should 'live with' Tribunal's decision on disclosure of Iraq cabinet minutes Added 27 January 2009
	Press release stating that the government should accept 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 releasing the minutes.
	New bid to exempt MPs' expenses from the FoI Act! Updated 23 January 2009
	The government had been proposing to rush through an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act to exclude information about MPs' and Peers' expenses from the Act's scope. However, it has been forced to withdraw the proposal - at least for now. This page contains background information about the proposal and what's been said about it by the Campaign and others.
	Access to MPs' expenses move criticised
	Press release criticising the Government's proposals, announced on 15 January 2009, to prevent FOI requests being made for MPs' individual expenses. Instead of allowing requests for spending on individual items, the government is proposing that annual totals should continue to be published, though broken down into more categories than in the past. Added 15 January 2009
	Delays in investigating FOI complaints Added 1 December 2008
	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.
	Using the FOI Act! Courses for new & experienced requesters
	The Campaign is running two half-day training courses for FOI requesters on 13 January 2009 in central London. The morning course will provide an introduction the legisltion, covering both the Freedom of Information Act and the parallel Environmental Information Regulations. The afternoon course will examine some of the key decisions under the two regimes and explain how they can help you obtain information. Requesters can attend either or both courses. Updated 15/12/08 2008
	1,000 FOI Stories from 2006 and 2007
	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 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). Read the press release that accompanied publication of the report. Added 30 September 2008
	Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions Course
	The Campaign is running a half-day course on 'Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions' in London on 21 July 2008 and Birmingham on 24 July 2008. The course, which is aimed at those with a good working knowledge of the legislation, highlights key developments in the way the way the main exemptions, the public interest test and the legislation's procedural requirements are being interpreted. Added 24 June 2008
	Policy advice released after months not decades
	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. Added 2 May 2008
	Submission to the 30 year rule review
	Response to the review of the 30 year rule that was set up by the Prime Minister. The response 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 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. Added 25 April 2008
	Health Service Journal letter
	This letter comments on the Information Commissioner's recent criticism of a health trust for failing to meet its obligations under the FOI Act. Added 11 April 2008
	Should policy advice be kept under wraps?
	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. Added 11 April 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. Added 17 March 2008
	Press release 14 March 2008
	Contractors "should be subject to Information Act"
	Response to the consultation on extending the FOI Act
	Response to the Ministry of Justice 'Freedom of Information Act 2000: Designation of additional public authorities' consultation paper. Added 14 March 2008
	Press release 26 February 2008
	Welcome for Iraq cabinet minutes decision
	Press release 21 February 2008
	Welcome for Northern Rock freedom of information vote
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