International Conference of Information Commissioners
Feb 28, 2005 FOI in the news
An article in The Saratogian newspaper of Saratoga, New York reports from the third annual International Conference of Information Commissioners in Cancun, Mexico. It was the largest gathering of its kind with 400 people in attendance from 50 countries.
Official: US must do more to provide for open government
ALBANY — The U.S. could [...]
Tesco food labeling
Feb 28, 2005 Campaigns, Environment, FOI in the news, Local Government
I have a number of requests in to various councils requesting that Trading Standards reports be made public. Two stories in the Sunday Times this past weekend show why the public have a pressing and direct need to know the contents of these reports.
Tesco misleads shoppers on salt and sugar labels
Richard Fletcher
Tesco, Britain’s biggest [...]
High praise for Waste Management – Boos for Environmental Health
Feb 23, 2005 Campaigns, Environment, Local Government, Request Diary
FOI Requests to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
FOI Request for Harrods Food Hall inspection report
Feb 23, 2005 Request Diary
Freedom of Information Team
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Town Hall, Rm N111
Hornton Street
London W8 7NX
February 23, 2004
Dear Paul Stott
I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
I would like a copy of the food safety inspection report about Harrods food hall that [...]
Asylum Statistics: The figures behind the headlines
Feb 23, 2005 Central Government, Useful sites
The Home Office yesterday published Asylum Statistics: 4th Quarter 2004 (pdf 624 kb). This publication will make interesting reading for those curious about the actual number of asylum cases, which countries they come from, the number of people detained, deported and granted asylum. It includes data for the 4th Quarter of 2004, [...]
Public access to Defence Estate
Feb 23, 2005 Defence
The Ministry of Defence has put together a website that gives information about public access to the Defence Estate. The site includes maps showing general access to various defence properties. A detailed walking guide is available by following the link ‘Walks on MOD Lands’ on the publications page.
Public access to the defence estate can [...]
Contacting MPs and local councillors
Feb 22, 2005 Central Government, Local Government, Useful sites
The beta version of www.writetothem.com is now up and running. Brought to you by the mysociety.org team, this project is the successor to the highly successful www.faxyourmp.com. It provides an easy way for the public to write to their local councillors, MPs, MSPs, MEPs, and local assembly members.
Check it out and use it often! [...]
London FOI Forum & FOI contacts
Feb 22, 2005 Local Government, Useful sites
London Connects is a useful site if you want to make FOI requests to one or more of the London boroughs. London Connects is funded by the London boroughs, Metropolitan Police, fire, Greater London Assembly and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and is a place for London public bodies to share best [...]
Dept for Transport: Shredding disclosures
Feb 21, 2005 Central Government, Request Diary, Transport
The Department for Transport has posted its response to a Freedom of Information request regarding the policy of shredding Departmental files between the passage of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and its coming into effect in January 2005.
My original investigation into shredding appeared in the Daily Telegraph.
Material relating to the policy of shredding (PDF [...]
Surgeons seek to block heart league tables
Feb 15, 2005 FOI in the news, Health
An article in the Daily Telegraph today claims leading heart surgeons are against the publication of operation survival league tables.
If heart surgeons are so concerned about the public then they should publish and be damned. The solution to ambiguous or unclear statistics is more information, not less. Where surgeons are concerned that those [...]
