The Campaign has responded to the Cabinet Office’s consultation on the draft code of practice on datasets to be issued under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act.
The Campaign has responded to the Cabinet Office’s consultation on the draft code of practice on datasets to be issued under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act.
HMRC: taxman increasingly ‘snooping’ on taxpayers – The Telegraph – 14.01.13
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.
Not so grim up North: BBC staff paid up to £90,000 to relocate to Salford HQ – Daily Mail – 31.12.12
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.
The Information Commissioner’s Office 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. The four are: 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.
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.
Your £1 million bill for jet-set BBC bosses: Corporation spent huge sum on flights to U.S. in just seven months – Mail Online – 14.12.12
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.
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 written ministerial statement, have been laid before Parliament:
The quarterly FOI statistics for central government for the period July to September 2012 (quarter 3 2012) have been published. 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:
Attacks on Norfolk prison staff revealed – BBC – 30.11.12
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.