Openness by Design – Why the ICO has an (extremely) long way to go on FOI.
So I send a lot of Freedom of Information requests (count for last year was well in the thousands). Consequently, I get a lot of responses, a lot of refusals,…
FOI Exemptions – Section 21 – but the information I want isn’t available elsewhere, is it time to appeal?
If the Cabinet Office statistics for central government FOI-handling show cost is the most common reason you’ll find your request being refused, then coming in as the third most commonly used Freedom of…
FOI Exemptions – Section 12 – Should I appeal this cost refusal?
Figures out yesterday (May 1, 2019) show that 55% of Freedom of Information requests refused by central government bodies in 2018 were rejected under Section 12, or cost limits. Given that…
The FOI Commission
I have just sent my response to the call for evidence by the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information. In the end it ran to 23 pages, just over 10,000 words.…
What politicians know thanks to the Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act turned 10 on January 1 (yes, I am a bit late, but I have been in West Wales) and political parties have been celebrating by…
Why Labour’s smear test attack on the coalition just doesn’t stand up
The coalition is failing women, the number who are overdue smear tests has soared 11% since they came to power, possibly due to the difficulty getting GP appointments. When working…
With FOI think MVP
Being quite busy recently, I’ve been thinking about ways to use Freedom of Information Act requests to generate stories without taking up huge amounts of time (mine, and FOI officers)…