The Campaign for Freedom of Information has expressed concern that the measures to remove copyright restrictions on datasets in the Protection of Freedoms Bill could be easily circumvented and has called for copyright to be removed on all information released under the FOI Act, except material which a public authority is commercially exploiting.

The Campaign’s concerns are set out in a submission to the Commons’ committee dealing with the Protection of Freedoms Bill. It follows the Campaign’s oral evidence to the Committee on 24 March 2011. You can watch the evidence session here or read a transcript here.

Scottish Ministers have appealed to the Court of Session after the Scottish Information Commissioner ordered documents detailing the financial implications of a proposed local income tax scheme be released to the Daily Telegraph.

On February 9, 2011, following a two-year dispute, the Scottish Information Commissioner ordered the information be disclosed:

“The information therein would contribute significantly to public understanding of how and why changing financial and economic circumstances in the period since 2007 had affected the viability of the Ministers’ policy to replace council tax with a local income tax. This could in turn allow informed discussion of the longer term viability of any such plans as economic circumstances have changed in the period since the revised revenue projections were prepared.”

The new appeal means the information will now not be released until well after the Scottish Parliament general election in May.

Read the Scottish Information Commissioner’s decision and the Daily Telegraph story.

TB(5)3.ii Right to data and Freedom of Information presentation and discussion

The Ministry of Justice and Cabinet Office have been working closely together to consider how best to take forward the right to data paper and the post legislative scrutiny (PLS) of the Freedom of Information Act. The paper and PLS can be used together to start the step change that the Transparency agenda demands and embed the culture change.

A joint presentation was given which detailed the information rights legislation landscape in the UK; Transparency achievements to date; an outline of the right to data paper and the plans/process for PLS.

Post Legislative Scrutiny will provide an opportunity to take stock of what the Act has achieved and assess not only whether the FOI Act does what it was intended to do, but also whether the overall objectives are still the same, and if not, what future direction the Government may need to take to achieve them. Work is about to start on the initial stage to prepare the evidence to support PLS by Parliament – this will take a few months to pull together. These documents will then be passed on to a Select Committee (possibly the Justice Select Committee) to undertake the process.

In the near term, a right to data paper provides us with the opportunity to set out a clear vision, and a programme of work to underpin right to data legislation and embed it in the culture of public authorities. Work would commence immediately on drafting the paper – while the Post Legislative Scrutiny process is progressing. This would enable momentum on the Transparency agenda to be maintained.

The Board commented positively on the update. It was noted that a move towards proactive publication, rather than just a response to requests for data, was firmly in line with the aims of the Transparency Board. The Transparency Board could help departments grapple with their data through a review of the use of the “OPSI data unlocking service”.

The Board offered their support in undertaking PLS and MOJ welcomed suggestions from the Board on methodology and approach. They also supported the production and publication of a right to data paper.

Action 4: Transparency Board members to be kept informed of the progress of the right to data paper and post legislative scrutiny processes.

Due: Provide formal updates to the Board at the April and June meetings

ICO news release
30 March 2011

Being anonymous ‘an ever increasing challenge’ in 2011, says Information Commissioner

Advances in the internet, the scale of personal information that is collected by public bodies and businesses, and the pressure to share data in the name of efficiency, make being anonymous in 2011 ‘an ever increasing challenge’ Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, will say today at a seminar the ICO is hosting on anonymisation.

Leading academics and experts from the public sector and business will gather at the Wellcome Trust in London today to consider different perspectives and approaches to anonymisation – the process of removing personal identifiers from information. Speaking alongside the Information Commissioner are Paul Ohm from the University of Colorado, Mark Elliot from the University of Manchester as well as representatives from the Cabinet Office and the Office of National Statistics.

The ICO will publish a report in the coming weeks that will summarise the seminar’s key discussion points as well as setting out next steps.

Full press release here.

The latest edition of Inform, the Scottish Information Commissioner’s newsletter, has been published covering the period January to March 2011 and the launch of the Commissioner’s Annual Report.

As local authorities and other public bodies continue to grapple with freedom of information and data protection, Philip Hoult speaks to Deputy Information Commissioner (and former local government lawyer) Graham Smith about monetary penalties, vexatious litigants, spending cuts and the inexorable rise of requests for information.

Full interview here.

Patients died following delay in treatment – Lancashire Evening Post 23/03/11
In one incident, ambulance crew lost a patient for almost five hours while transporting them to hospital. The patient was found in the vehicle in the ambulance station garage at midnight. The findings were revealed by the North West Ambulance Service, following a Freedom of Information request about the number of Serious Untoward Incidents (SUIs) recorded.

GP reforms’ leaders on boards of private firms – Pulse 23/03/11
One GP in 10 on the boards of new commissioning consortia also holds an executive-level position with a private provider, exposing the serious potential for conflict of interest in the Government’s NHS reforms according to data released by PCTs under the Freedom of Information Act.

Doctor ‘enraged’ by £3.5m bill for consultants over 30 months – The Sentinel 23/03/11
A GP has clashed with leaders of a health trust after revealing they spent £3.5 million on private consultancy fees in 30 months. Dr Sunil Angris told North Staffordshie Primary Care Turst directors that fellow doctors and healthcare professionals were “shocked, alarmed and enraged” by the sum, which he obtained using a Freedom of Information request.

Royal Mail send 25 million items a year to the shredder – Daily Mail 21/03/11
Royal Mail has admitted it destroys an average 25 million letters, packets and parcels every year. The company has destroyed 152million items of post that could not be delivered or returned to sender in the last six years, according to figures obtained following a Freedom of Information request.

Haringey Young People’s Counselling Service axed by Haringey Council – Haringey Independent 17/03/11
A counselling service for young people will close in two weeks as a result of budget cuts, Haringey Council has confirmed. The Haringey Young People’s Counselling Service provides one-on-one therapy to vulnerable teenagers, but will be axed after the council cut the youth services budget by 75 per cent. This was revealed in a freedom of information request by members of pressure group Save Haringey Youth Service.

Neurology ‘lottery’ as costs vary 10-fold – Pulse 16/03/11
GP commissioning consortia will inherit an ‘idiosyncratic’ postcode lottery for neurology services from PCTs. Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act suggests the price trusts were paying for new consultant outpatient appointments for neurology in 2009 varied from £67 to £592.

English football’s tax debt was £22m ‘at low eb’ in 2010 – Sporting Intelligence 15/03/11
Clubs from the Premier League owe millions of pounds in tax payments, including VAT, despite being rich enough to pay player’s salaries that run into six figures per week in some cases, according to findings from a Freedom of Information inquiry.

Green spaces sell-off? Bristol City Council has no plan B – Bristol Evening Post 15/03/11
Bristol City Council has never looked at ways of paying for the £87 million parks improvement plan that didn’t involve selling off green spaces. The council has repeatedly stated a plan based around developers’ money would not be enough. But following a request under the Freedom of Information Act, the authority has been forced to admit it has never actually looked at the detail of such a plan.

Pledges to protect ‘frontline’ officers worthless because no definition exists – Western Morning News 15/03/11
Freedom of Information Act requests have confirmed that neither the Home Office, or Devon and Cornwall Police, actually know what a “frontline”officer is. Neither said theyhad definitions for the role, although the Home Office said it was under “consideration”.

Troubles team is accused of bias – Newsletter 15/03/11
A recent freedom of information release has revealed that all but one of the 71 Historical Enquiries Team arrests have been loyalists, leading the Lagan Valley MLA to warn of “considerable unrest” if the continuing peace process “does not recognise that the majority of killings were carried out by the Provisional IRA”.

Travel insurers cash in on NHS – The Sunday Times 13/03/11
Travel insurers that pay out on medical claims have pocketed nearly £4.8m from the NHS since 2005. The figures were released following a Freedom of Information request by The Sunday Times.

The Information Commissioner and Campaign for Freedom of Information gave oral evidence to the Protection of Freedoms Bill Committee on 24 March 2011. You can watch a recording of the evidence session here.

A note submitted to the Committee setting out the Campaign’s views on the Bill is available here. The Information Commissioner’s written evidence to the Committee is here.