The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has published the findings of a review into why a collection of 8,800 colonial records from the former British territories had not been placed in the public domain. The review, into why the records were not treated in accordance with the Public Records Act 1958, was undertaken by the former British High Commissioner to Canada, Mr Anthony Cary. The existence of the files (known as the ‘migrated archives’) in the FCO archives only emerged as a result of the High Court case brought by four Mau Mau veterans over alleged human rights abuses by British colonial officials in Kenya in the 1950s. The High Court is set to rule on their claim shortly.

The review states:

As a consequence of confusion over ownership, the Kenyan migrated archive was left in limbo: neither accepted by the TNA [The National Archives] for the public record, or formally acknowledged by the FCO. Unless it catalogued the files and conducted a full sensitivity review, the FCO could neither release the files (whether to successor Governments or to private repositories) nor consult them in any systematic way for the purposes of FoI and other search requests, nor even apply for a Lord Chancellor’s instrument to authorise retention of them. But no such review was conducted. In part, this was because of resource constraints: the Department has struggled to keep up with the annual statutory requirement to select, review and redact files for acceptance by the National Archives [TNA], and in recent years it has also faced an unrelenting flow of FoI requests. But in part it also reflected a failure by successive senior managers to grip what should have been seen to be an unresolved and potentially explosive problem. 

On the question of why the Kenya files were not identified or searched at the time FOI requests were received by the FCO in 2005 and 2006, the report states:

Lack of process documentation and misunderstanding about the importance and searchability of the archives explain the failure only up to a point. I think it is fair to say that these misapprehensions were only half believed, at least by the more thoughtful and knowledgeable staff. It was perhaps convenient to accept the assurances of predecessors that the migrated archives were administrative and/or ephemeral, and did not need to be consulted for the purposes of FoI requests, while also being conscious of the files as a sort of guilty secret, of uncertain status and in the ‘too difficult’ tray.

The review recommends that the FCO conducts a full inventory of the information it holds. In a written ministerial statement, the Foreign Secretary said:

I believe that it is the right thing to do for the information in these files now to be properly examined and recorded and made available to the public through the National Archives. This will be taken forward rapidly. Given the size of the archive the process may take some time to complete in full. It will be overseen by a senior and independent figure I shall appoint…It is my intention to release every part of every paper of interest subject only to legal exemptions.

See also:
Mau Mau torture files were ‘guilty secret’ – The Independent
Court approves release of documents in Mau Mau trial – Leigh Day & Co.

The annual FOI statistics for central government published by the Ministry of Justice last week contain figures on the the duration of internal reviews and public interest extensions. The Campaign for Freedom of Information has previously highlighted the inadequacy of the Ministry of Justice’s statistics in these two areas. Some improvements to the statistics have been incorporated into this year’s annual report, though it is still not possibly to identify how long the most serious delays were.

Duration of public interest extensions

The Information Commissioner’s guidance says

47% completed the public interest test consideration in 20 working days or less.
39% took between 20 and 60 working days
14% took longer than 60 working days

Internal reviews
58% took 20 working days or less
34% took between 21 and 60 working days
8% took longer than 60 working days

The report of a roundtable discussion on FOI and the media hosted by the Scottish Information Commissioner and Holyrood Magazine has been published.

Holyrood magazine and the Scottish Information Commissioner recently hosted a roundtable event where professionals from the media, local government, tade unions and the legal sector discussed how the legislation has worked out since it was implemented in January 2005 and how it impacts different perspectives.

The Commissioner, Kevin Dunion, was joined by a number of journalists, lawyers, FoI staff and campaigners to debate the relationship between the legislation and the media.

The meeting was held just a month after the previous Scottish Government said it was not appropriate to extend FoI laws to organisations such as contractors who build and maintain hospitals, housing associations and private prisons.

A series of other proposals have been mooted, however, and it is expected that changes will be made to the legislation.

In Scotland the role of FoI has come under the spotlight again in recent weeks. The SNP announced that it has now shelved plans to replace the council tax with a local income tax in the next Parliament. But the SNP Government came under fire after it emerged Alex Salmond has twice gone to the Court of Session to prevent the disclosure of a memo detailing the financial implications of local income tax becoming public.

The Government is contesting a decision by Dunion, who believes the tax plans are in the public interest and should be released, on the grounds that the memo constitutes “advice to ministers” which is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Full report here.

£7 million spent on Birmingham Prison ahead of controversial takeover – Birmingham Mail 03/05/11
Taxpayers have shelled out more than £7 million during the past five years on improvements at Birmingham Prison – even though it will be taken over in less than six months by a private security firm. A Freedom of Information request revealed more than £2 million had been spent during the first three months of this year alone.

£310k of City Council schemes are waved through – The Sentinel 03/05/11
Council officers applied to have more than £1.5 million worth of contracts approved without going through a tendering process designed to secure best value for money. They applied for exemption certificates for 12 projects which meant they did not have to go through a protracted procedure. Information, obtained by The Sentinel under the Freedom of Information Act, showed that six of these projects went ahead costing £30, 915.

Care Quality Commission visits drop by 70% – Community Care 03/05/11
Adult care providers have seen a “frightening and unacceptable” 70% drop in inspections by the Care Quality Commission in the past year, prompting fears for the welfare of service users. The sharp fall, revealed in a Freedom of Information request by Community Care, follows the introduction of the CQC’s new registration system for providers last October, and comes despite the regulator saying that it expected there to be more inspections under the new regime.

Top Kent schools get millions in funding meant for deprived inner city pupils – Your Thanet 30/04/11
More than £4.5 million a year of Government funding is being “unfairly” pumped into selected schools to spend as they wish through a project abolished five years ago. And despite the grants being designed specifically to help schools in deprived urban areas, many of those in Kent receiving the no-strings-attached cash are in affluent areas or are grammar schools according to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

GPs challenge PCT rationing plans – GP 28/04/11
PCT restrictions on access to NHS treatment has led to a huge rise in GPs having to submit requests for patients to access care, GP has found. The number of such requests rose by 17 per cent from 2008/9 (53,000) to 2010/11 (62,000), according to responses from 103 PCTs to our request under the Freedom of Information Act. Over the same period, the proportion of requests approved fell by 22 per cent.

Trusts insist on local GPs in out-of-hours overhaul – Pulse 28/04/11
GP out-of-hours care is being radically reshaped across England, with PCTs working with consortia to implement ‘local doctor only’ policies or merging services with the Government’s new 111 urgent care number.75 PCTs are following the lead of NHS East of England according to responses under the Freedom of Information Act.

Syrian officers received training in Britain – The Guardian 27/04/11
The British government has defended its training programme for foreign military leaders after it emerged that it had educated several Syrian officers at Ministry of Defence colleges. The data was released following a freedom of information request by the Guardian.

Britain for Sale – Property Week 21/04/11
A never-before-seen list of government property that is on the market, including a derelict hospital on London’s Hampstead Road, a Yorkshire golf club and a grade II-listed office building in Cheltenham, was obtained from by the Government Property Unit through a Freedom of Information Act request. See a map of all the properties here.

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq – The Independent 19/04/11
Plans to exploit Iraq’s oil reserves were discussed by government ministers and the world’s largest oil companies the year before Britain took a leading role in invading Iraq, government documents show. Over 1,000 documents were obtained under Freedom of Information over five years by the oil campaigner Greg Muttitt.

Closures of youth prisons triggered cases of unrest – Children & Young People Now 19/04/11
The closure of young offender institutions (YOIs) has created serious safeguarding issues within the secure estate, CYP Now has learned. A YJB document dating back to last September, released to CYP Now under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that “recent decommissioning of estate appears to have been a relevant factor in two recent significant incidents”.

GPs set for greater powers to combat acute trust overspends – Pulse 18/04/11
The Department of Health is poised to add more levers into acute trust contracts to give GPs greater negotiating powers with hospitals, says a senior Department of Health official. It comes as information obtained by Pulse under the Freedom of Information Act revealed the extent of acute overspending that GP commissioners will have to tackle.

Emails expose BP’s attempts to control research into impact of Gulf oil spill – The Guardian 15/04/11
BP officials tried to take control of a $500m fund pledged by the oil company for independent research into the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, it has emerged. Documents obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act show BP officials openly discussing how to influence the work of scientists supported by the fund, which was created by the oil company in May last year.

The Ministry of Justice has published the 2010 annual statistics on the implementation and operation of the FOI Act in central government.

The report shows:

• central government bodies received 43,921 “non routine” information requests in 2010, 8% more than in 2009. 
• Departments of State received 27,410 of these requests, an increase of 16% compared to 2009. Other monitored bodies received 16,511 requests, 2% less than in 2009.
• the Ministry of Justice received the largest number of requests (3,174), followed by the Department of Work and Pensions (3,145) Home Office (3,069), Ministry of Defence (2,956), Department for Transport (2,864), Treasury (2,064) and Department of Health (2,023).
• 86% of all requests were answered within the standard 20 working day deadline, compared to 82% in 2009. Departments of State answered 83% of requests within 20 working days, compared to 91% for other monitored bodies.
• 57% of all “resolvable” requests were granted in full, 15% were withheld in part and 25% withheld in full. 

Ranked in order of their performance in meeting the 20 working day deadline (with no. of requests received in brackets), the list of departments is as follows:

• Department of Health 99% (2,023)
• HM Treasury 95% (2,062)
• Attorney General’s Office 93% (127)
• Department for Transport 89% (2,887)
• Communities and Local Government 89% (929)
• Northern Ireland Office 89% (214)
• DEFRA 87% (551)
• Wales Office 87% (119)
• Department of Work and Pensions 87% (3,145)
• Department for International Development 86% (402)
• Scotland Office 86% (139)
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport 85% (607)
• Export Credit Guarantee Department 85% (65)
• Department of Energy and Climate Change 85% (576)
• Ministry of Justice 84% (3,174)
• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 83% (1,034)
• Government Equalities Office 80% (106)
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office 79% (1,184)
• Home Office 77% (3,069)
• Department for Education (76% (880)
• Cabinet Office 72% (1,081)
• Ministry of Defence 60% (2,916)

The report is available as a pdf here. The statistics can be downloaded in Excel or CSV format here.

The April edition of the ICO’s e-newsletter is available from:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/enewsletter/previous_enewsletters/English/201104.aspx

Sign up here:
https://www.ico.gov.uk/news/enewsletter/subscribe_to_enewsletter.aspx

GPs face bans on high-cost drugs – Pulse 12/04/11
GPs are being banned from prescribing high-cost drugs approved by NICE as NHS managers seek drastic savings on prescribing budgets. Responses from 134 PCOs under the Freedom of Information Act show that more than half have blacklists of drugs – in some trusts of more than 100 – that GPs are banned from prescribing.

Musa Kusa linked to lawyer’s killing in London – The Times 10/04/11 (subscription only)
Former Libyan foreign minister was linked to the murder of a Libyan lawyer in London, according to a previously unseen police report. The revelation, in documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, comes amid mounting pressure on the government to prosecute Kusa.

Britain Privatises war-zone intelligence… at a cost of £240m – The Times 08/04/11 (subscription only)
Intelligence in Afghanistan is being gathered by security companies as the contracting-out of military duties becomes much more commonplace. MPs are now examining the growing scope of the contracts, obtained by The Times under the Freedom of Information Act.

Salmon & Trout Association exposes sham of salmon farming industry claims – Salmon & Trout Association 07/04/11
Dossier of material obtained under freedom of information reveals alarming results of Government inspections of Scottish salmon farms including high levels of sea-lice – the major concern for wild fish conservation.

NHS missing out on £5.5m a year in potential savings – Royal College of Nursing 06/04/11
The Royal College of Nursing has revealed that the NHS could potentially save up to £5.5 million a year if health organisations improve the way they dispose of waste. The RCN submitted a Freedom of Information to investigate and subsequently produced a report, Freedom of Information report on waste management. Read the report here.

Rarer Cancers Foundation Report warns of growing cross-border divide in cancer services – Rarer Cancers Foundation 06/04/11
A new RCF report has found that patients in Wales are being denied life-extending cancer treatments which would be made available to them elsewhere in the UK. The figures have come to light under Freedom of Information requests.

Surgery blunders hospital tightens checks – Yorkshire Post 04/04/11
A hospital trust in Yorkshire has paid out a total of almost £1.2m in compensation to women who were left in pain and in some cases scarred for life after their breast operations were botched by the same surgeon. New figures obtained under FOI reveal that a total of £1,189,054 has been paid by the Foundation Trust to 26 women.

Met hacking inquiry chief dined with NOTW staff – The Independent 01/04/11
The police chief who headed Scotland Yard’s inquiry into phone-hacking dined with the News of the World at the height of his criminal investigation into the newspaper. Its disclosure in a Freedom of Information request prompted claims that the force had an unduly “cosy relationship” with News International.


Labour claims police officers will be forced to retire – BBC 29/03/11
Although police officers cannot be made redundant, officers with 30 or more years’ experience can be made to retire under existing regulations. Labour said details obtained under Freedom of Information showed 13 forces definitely intended to use this power and that 1,138 officers either have or will be forced to retire by 2015.


MoD pays £1.3m compensation to Afghans for death, injury and damage – The Guardian 28/03/11
Ministry of Defence payouts include £542 for a girl killed in a fire and £4,700 for a shop destroyed by a flare. The list of all claims that were settled or rejected in 2010 has been released after the Guardian made a freedom of information request to the MoD. Read the full list here.

‘This is damning evidence of the dangers of handing control of public services to private firms’ – The Herald 27/03/11
A massive £4.8 billion of public money is being paid to multinational corporations to run water-works that are plagued with breakdowns and pollution. Details of the problems are disclosed in hundreds of internal documents released by Scottish Water to an industry researcher at Strathclyde University under FOI laws.

Foreign Office ‘backed BP in Rosneft talks’ – The Sunday Telegraph 27/03/11
Efforts by BP to hammer out its $16bn (£10bn) share swap and Arctic exploration deal with Russian energy group Rosneft had the full support of the Foreign Office. A series of meetings between the British ambassador in Moscow and BP executives covering discussions about a Rosneft tie are listed in censored cables released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has announced that several public authorities, including the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence, are facing regulatory action for failing to reduce the time they take to respond to Freedom of Information requests:

The ICO monitored the performance of 33 public authorities for a period of three months, following concerns about delays in their responses to FOI requests. Of the 33 authorities, the ICO is in discussions with several organisations about the improvements they still need to put in place. The Commissioner has particular concerns about delays at the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Defence and Birmingham City Council. Discussions on appropriate regulatory action are now taking place.

Four other authorities – the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the London Borough of Islington, Wolverhampton City Council and Westminster City Council – have been asked to sign undertakings to improve their performance in this area.

The remaining 26 authorities have maintained or improved their response times sufficiently, and no action is being taken against them. However, the ICO has sent letters to the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police Service, NHS North West, the London Borough of Croydon, the Scotland Office and the London Borough of Newham to put on record that, while all of them are now meeting the required standard, the monitoring has revealed some areas of concern.

Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said:

“I am delighted that over two thirds of the authorities whose performance we have been monitoring have managed to overcome their problems. However, the remaining authorities have not done enough to convince us that they have a clear and credible plan for getting back on track. Over the next four weeks, we shall be discussing appropriate next steps with them.”

The ICO has also published its latest list of authorities whose performance is being monitored. These are:

• Barnsley Metropolitan Council
• City of London Police
• Cornwall Council
• Department for Education
• East Lancashire NHS Trust
• Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Highways Agency (an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport)
• Kent County Council
• Kirklees Council
• London Borough of Southwark
• NHS South West London (Wandsworth Borough Team – formerly NHS Wandsworth)
• North East Lincolnshire Council
• North Somerset Council
• Nottingham City Council
• Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
• Surrey County Council
• Surrey Police
• Waveney District Council

Paul Cardin has been highlighting the fact that two councils (Cheshire West & Chester Council and Brent Council) have, as part of compromise agreements reached with former employees, imposed restrictions which prohibit them from making requests under the Freedom of Information and Data Protection acts. The Information Commissioner’s Office has advised Paul that, in such situations, an ex-employee could still exercise their right to make requests and the authority would likely be in breach of the legislation if it refused to deal with them. However, if they did so, there may be legal consequences such as action for breach of contract. The issue has been covered by the Chester Chronicle, Roy Greenslade of the Guardian and by David Higgerson.

Paul has received legal advice and is now pursuing a claim against Cheshire West and Chester Council.
Further details about Paul’s case are on his website: www.easyvirtualassistance.co.uk/page4.html

The Swedish and Finnish Embassies in London are jointly hosting a symposium and reception, on Thursday 7th April 2011 to celebrate the life of Peter Forsskal (1732 -1763).

He is the author of Thoughts on Civil Liberty (1759), which has recently been translated for the first-time ever into English (working from the uncensored manuscript). Forsskal advocated access to information and freedom of expression, writing

it must be possible for society’s state of affairs to become known to everyone, and it must be possible for everyone to speak his mind freely about it… Matters of war and some foreign negotiations need to be concealed for some time and not become known by many, but not account of proper citizens however, but because of the enemies

His words were an intellectual catalyst for the Swedish Freedom of the Printing Press Act 1766, the world’s first freedom-of-information law.

As well as being a social philosopher, Forsskal was a botanist and zoologist – a ‘disciple’ of Carl Linnaeus. He travelled to Egypt and (modern-day) Yemen 250 years ago as a member of an expedition organised by the King of Denmark. He died in Yemen in 1763, possibly from malaria.

Thoughts on Civil Liberty is available at http://www.peterforsskal.com (also in French, Spanish and Russian; the German version is from the censored manuscript. An Arabic translation is being launched on June 14th).