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The Daily Mirror reports:"Freeloading bosses of some of our most pointless quangos have enjoyed sun-drenched overseas jollies - costing the taxpayer £11.5million.In the second part of our shocking probe into our public-funded bodies, we can reveal they have jetted off on more than 15,000 trips abroad in the last year - all bankrolled by YOU.The far-flung jaunts included at least 226 trips to the States, 59 to China, 33 to Australia and New Zealand, 24 to Canada and 13 to Dubai.Quango bosses and staff have stayed at luxury five-star hotels, casino hotels and beach resorts.Our probe, using the Freedom of Information Act to hold nearly 300 quangos to account, has uncovered thousands of overseas trips taken in the 12 months to April 2009 by Britain's quangocrats."Read more at the following link...The fabulous quango junkets to Australia, China, USA that the taxpayer is paying for (Daily Mirror, 28 July 2009)
The High Court has ruled that the Information Tribunal misunderstood part of a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request and failed to properly adjudicate other parts of it. The case must now be re-considered by the Tribunal.When the Government passed the Financial Services and Markets Act in 2000 the then-Chancellor Gordon Brown declared that the law was compatible with the Human Rights Act.Evan Owen wrote to the Treasury to ask to see the legal documentation on which that declaration was based. His request was made under the provisions of the FOI Act. The Treasury denied his request, saying that advice from Government advisors the Law Officers was exempt from disclosure under FOI. There is a provision in the FOI Act that exempts information subject to legal professional privilege.The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), agreed that the advice was exempt from disclosure. It also ruled, though, that the Treasury should disclose whether or not Law Officers' advice was held by it. It did not have to disclose what the advice was, only whether or not it had been given, the ICO said.The Treasury appealed that decision to the Information Tribunal, which backed the ICO's ruling, and to the High Court. It said that even just the fact of whether or not advice had been sought or given could be politically sensitive and damage the confidentiality necessary for legal advice to be effective.The Court found that the Tribunal had had a "fundamental misunderstanding" about the convention governing Law Officers' behaviour and its relation to the case which was "at the heart of the Tribunal's concerns".It also said that the Tribunal did not properly consider the balance of public interest in disclosure or withholding of the information.The Court said that it would make no ruling on the substance of the claims, but would ask the Tribunal to rule on them again.
Info Tribunal fluffed on FOI, rules High Court (The Register, 24 July 2009)
The head of the Northern Ireland branch of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has been suspended.BBC News understands it is alleged Aubrey McCrory engaged in inappropriate conduct within his Belfast office.The ICO promotes public access to official information and protects personal information across the UK.Mr McCrory was appointed as Assistant Commissioner for Northern Ireland at the Information Commissioner's Office last June.He had previously worked at the Equality Commission. The post of Assistant Commissioner for the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) commands a maximum salary of £58,650.NI information chief is suspended (BBC News, 13 July 2009)
The culture secretary, Ben Bradshaw, has signalled that the BBC should follow the “painful” example of MPs in coming clean over the salaries and expenses of its top stars.Bradshaw’s intervention comes after the broadcaster repeatedly blocked requests to disclose the amount of money it spends on its highest-paid presenters and other on-screen talent.The BBC has attracted more complaints than virtually any other public-sector organisation for refusing to make disclosures under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act – despite the fact that its journalists are among its biggest beneficiaries.In an interview with The Sunday Times, Bradshaw, a former BBC correspondent, said: “Organisations that are spending public money should be transparent and open about how they spend it.” Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw calls for stars’ salaries to be revealed (The Times, 19 July 2009)
The Ministry of Justice has named four public bodies that should be covered by Freedom of Information laws - but campaigners have said the list does not go far enough.Academy schools, the Association of Chief Police Officers, university admissions body Ucas and the Financial Ombudsman Service would be included within the scope of FoI under the new plans.Justice secretary Jack Straw said the government would consult the bodies with a view to bringing them within the laws early in the next parliamentary session.He also said ministers would work with Network Rail and utility companies to consider how the freedom of information regime might also apply to them.Extending FoI to prisons, detention centres and foster care homes run by private contractors on behalf of public authorities was a "matter under review", the Ministry of Justice said.The moves follow a consultation on extending the Freedom of Information Act, which defines what information certain public bodies are required to produce on request.Freedom of Information Act scope to be extended - a bit (Press Gazette, 17 July 2009)
Freedom of Information Act to be extended (Hold the Front Page, 17 July 2009)
UK: Government to extend Freedom of Information Act (EditorsWeblog.org, 17 July 2009)
Companies that provide public services will not be brought within the Freedom of Information Act, the government said yesterday. The Campaign for Freedom of Information said the decision was very disappointing given the growing role the private sector had in providing public services.The justice ministry has bowed to the arguments of employers' organisations that meeting FOI requests would add to the costs of contracts.Companies to stay outside FOI (Financial Times, 17 July 2009)
Companies to stay outside Freedom of Information regime (Out-Law, 17 July 2009)
Some of Scotland’s most famous heritage sites are being blighted by “ruin rage”, with visitors aggrieved by everything from parking problems to child misbehaviour.Staff working for Historic Scotland have been left with black eyes and broken teeth, while one worker was almost run over by a visitor in a dispute about car parking.The incidents were revealed in documents released yesterday by the agency, which is responsible for maintaining chief tourist sites including Edinburgh Castle and the Antonine Wall. The files reveal 30 separate incidents of abuse and violence against its staff in two years.The incident logs show that in March 2007 one steward was beaten up by a visitor after asking for an illegally parked car to be moved. A year later a visitor subjected staff to a torrent of verbal abuse before attempting to damage a monument. In another incident, staff were intimidated by a group of Italian tourists owing to “closure of the site at closing hours”. The documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, also include details of 241 on-site accidents involving both staff and visitors, although Historic Scotland bosses did not specify where they had occurred. Among the mishaps were a steward being blown over by a gust of wind and a dog trapped in a lavatory. Scots heritage sites alarmed at rising ‘aggression and violence’ (The Times, 17 July 2009)
Martin Sixsmith writes: "This Government claims it is committed to openness. My gruelling battle to find out who lied about me shows otherwise""... I was a member of the senior Civil Service when the Freedom of Information Act was formulated in 1999 and I remember all the whispered discussions about how to circumvent it (never write anything down, don’t keep minutes of sensitive meetings), and partly because I have just emerged from a gruelling battle to make use of Britain’s information laws and have found the odds stacked firmly against me.""... in April 2006 I filed a subject access request for all the information the Government held on me and expected to get it within the 40-day deadline specified by the Freedom of Information Act. Some hope. The Government didn’t even reply within 40 days let alone provide the data.""When I asked why it was not sending me the information, I triggered a mildly surreal sequence of excuses that went on for two years: we have faulty IT equipment; manpower shortages; new priorities; “I am on holiday in France, R. Smith, Data Controller”; pressure of other business; change in IT supplier; the need to consult widely; Christmas leave commitments; third-party interests; concerns over data security.""When I rang, the ICO said that it had mislaid the case file. I asked for a meeting. At ICO headquarters in Wilmslow, Cheshire, I found an understaffed, cowed and demoralised organisation with nothing like the clout and resources the job demands. Staff members told me that they were stressed, overworked and scared of challenging the Government (which pays their wages)."Read more at the link below.The information watchdog without any teeth (The Times, 14 July 2009)
It was a sensation in the 70s when the Tate was forced to close a new exhibit, just four days after it was opened, when it was almost wrecked by an overly exuberant public.Nearly 40 years on, Robert Morris's Bodyspacemotionthings has lost none of its potential for danger after clocking up a string of casualties during a special reappearance at Tate Modern this summer. The artwork, in which participants are invited to negotiate see-saws, a tightrope and other obstacles, left 23 people needing first aid in just over week.According to records released under the Freedom of Information Act, the injured included a two-year-old girl who was taken to hospital after banging her head, and two boys aged 11 and seven who were taken to hospital with a crushed finger and grazed forehead in separate incidents involving the installation.Other injuries included a cut leg, a rope burn to the hand, bruised ribs, and a bruised shoulder.The injuries occurred despite a stringent application of 21st century health and safety procedures by the Tate.Tate Modern perfects the art of living dangerously (The Guardian, 12 July 2009)
Red-light cameras often -- but don't always -- translate into big money for suburbs that install them.West suburban Bellwood kept more than $1.1 million last year in red-light camera revenue, according to figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Bellwood did not reveal how much it paid its camera vendors, Lombard-based Redspeed and Australia-owned Redflex.Southwest suburban Bolingbrook briefly had 10 cameras operating in 2007 before pulling the plug. In August of that year, fines collected topped $261,000, with a little more than half going to Bolingbrook and the rest to Redspeed, invoices show.In west suburban Berwyn, however, it is Redspeed, not the town, that usually keeps most of the monthly split from ticket revenue generated by the city's four cameras. In April, for example, fine collections totaled $18,000 and Redspeed's share came to $13,327, invoices show.
Red-light camera revenue varies in suburbs (Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2009)
The Scottish Government is asking whether information held by public authorities could be made available for public viewing earlier than is currently the case.That is the question being asked by Minister for Parliamentary Business Bruce Crawford as the Scottish Government invites views on proposals to reduce the lifespan of certain exemptions in the Freedom of Information Scotland Act (FOISA) from 30 years to 15 years.The consultation follows the recent decision by Scottish Ministers to open Scottish Government files from the period 1979 to 1994, 15 years earlier than has previously been the case.Mr Crawford said: "The Scottish Government is committed to the principles that underpin Freedom of Information legislation. That is why I announced last month that we would make available, from later this year, Scottish Government files which would otherwise have remained secret for up to 30 years - files which cover, among other things, the first devolution proposals and the introduction of the poll tax."I believe there is a case for extending that approach to all public authorities who are subject to the legislation. However I am clear that it is important to seek views on the extent of any changes. That is why our consultation paper asks a number of questions - and the responses we receive will help determine our next steps."This consultation seeks views on whether the lifespan of certain 'exemptions' in FOISA should be reduced from 30 years to 15 years. This would allow information to be available at an earlier date.Responses to the consultation are invited by September 30.Consultation by Scottish Ministers on reducing the term of certain exemptions within the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Scottish Government website)
Scottish Government considers releasing public sector information earlier, under FOI (PublicTechnology.net, 7 July 2009)
Fine wines, ringside seats at major sporting events and – perhaps inevitably – a greatest hits CD by the Police. Scotland Yard's finest may have been battered by some unprecedented recent controversies but at least toiling in its upper echelons comes with perks. Records of hospitality accepted by the 12 members of the Metropolitan police management board, released after a Freedom of Information request, show they received an eclectic mix of gifts.A boomerang from the Australian police, a ceremonial dagger from Abu Dhabi police and a mounted truncheon shield from Bahrain's chief of public security were just some of the gifts accepted over the last year and a half by Sir Paul Stephenson, the Met's current commissioner, He also enjoyed a Rolling Stones concert courtesy of O2, rugby tickets from Capgemini and Unisys and had meals from Mercedes Benz, Policy Exchange, Lord and Lady Ashcroft, BT and various media organisations, including the Guardian.Gifts to Metropolitan police's top officers revealed (The Guardian, 6 July 2009)
Freedom of information campaigners say the regulator takes too long to decide to release documents to the public, undermining efforts to open up official files.The public has to wait more than a year and a half on average before the information commissioner delivers a decision, according to figures. A decision about gun-related crime in Yorkshire took three years and 10 months.The commissioner's staff take eight months on average before they even start investigating a complaint. One person waited nearly two years for the commissioner to begin an investigation into their complaint, concerning a refusal to release information about student loans.Criticism by the Campaign for Freedom of Information is levelled mainly at Richard Thomas, who was information commissioner for seven years until last month. He has been replaced by Christopher Graham, the former director-general of the Advertising Standards Authority.Maurice Frankel, the campaign's director, said the delays were "sufficiently serious and widespread to represent a major threat to the Freedom of Information Act's effectiveness and public confidence in it". He said: "A delay of two to three years or more in reaching a decision, as happens in over a quarter of cases means that even if the information is ultimately disclosed, it may no longer be of interest or use to the requester."Requesters ... may be so frustrated that they become reluctant to use the act again or to complain to the information commissioner about refusals."
Freedom of information regulator accused of excessive delays (UTV News, 2 July 2009)
Secrecy rulings 'taking too long' (BBC News, 3 July 2009)
The government has paid or is assessing compensation over 104 civilian deaths allegedly caused by the Army during operations in Afghanistan.Figures revealed after a Freedom of Information request by Channel 4 News show $200,000 (£120,000) compensation was paid in the last 18 months.Payouts range from $210 (£127) for a woman's death to $39,752 (£24,155) for a "multiple fatality" incident.But 113 compensation claims have been rejected by the Ministry of Defence. UK Afghan civilian death payments (BBC News, 1 July 2009)
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