Coroners: Jurisdiction & Contact list
May 31, 2005 Campaigns, Law Enforcement
The Secret Squirrel page has been updated with a downloadable Word document (123 kb) listing jurisdictions & contact details for coroners as of May 2005. This is the result of an FOI request made by a member of the public to the Home Office Coroner’s Unit.
The Home Office hasn’t bothered to make this [...]
Transport in London
May 24, 2005 Transport, Useful sites
The Department of Transport published new guidance on how transport is run and managed in London. If you need to know who is responsible for what service then this is a good place to begin your journey.
A printable PDF version is also available.
Article: Prohibitions on Disclosure
May 24, 2005 Access Laws, Articles, Book Updates, FOI in the news
The four hundred laws that shackle your right to know
The Times Law section, May 24, 2005
By Heather Brooke
For many people the Freedom of Information Act is not working
In 1987, 31 people died in the King’s Cross Tube station fire. The Fennell Report into the disaster found that many of the dangers had been identified in [...]
Amended Acts
May 24, 2005 Access Laws, Book Updates
The following Acts have been amended to make them compatable with Freedom of Information
Medicines Act 1968
Factories Act 1961: new Section 154A allows public officials and others on their behalf to disclose information under the FOIA
Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963
Health and Safety At Work etc Act 1974: Section 28 amended so information can [...]
First Scottish Complaint Ruling
May 24, 2005 Access Laws
The Scotsman newspaper reported the first complaint ruling by the Scottish Information Commissioner. The UK Information Commissioner has yet to announce any similar enforcement action.
Mon 23 May 2005
Authority rapped after freedom of information act complaint
A public authority was today formally criticised for breaching new freedom of information laws.
In his first complaint [...]
Who is a ‘Qualified Person’
May 18, 2005 Access Laws, Book Updates
A section in the Freedom of Information Act gives public authorities the option to exempt certain information if a qualified person believes that releasing it is not in the public interest. Who are these qualified people? Until now, no one was sure. The Department for Constitutional Affairs has just released a list of [...]
Training for Journalism Educators
May 9, 2005 Training
The next Association for Journalism Educators event is a seminar on Friday, June 10, 2005 at Sunderland University.
The theme will be: “Teaching research skills for journalism: Mindset, method, the Freedom of Information Act, and other access rights.”
I will be speaking at this event along with Colm Murphy, director of postgraduate journalism at Ulster University. [...]
Next NUJ Training Course: 26 May
May 9, 2005 Training
26 May 2005
London headquarters of the National Union of Journalists
For more information click here
Book online
Using the Freedom of Information Act and open records laws
Content
The long-awaited Freedom of Information Act grants the public a legal right to official information for the first time. No reporter should be without the knowledge of how to use this powerful [...]
Update: Local Government & FOI
May 9, 2005 Access Laws, Book Updates, Local Government
Several people have asked me if local government access to information laws have been updated yet to make them compatible with the Freedom of Information Act. They have not.
British Medical Association issues FOI guidelines for doctors
May 6, 2005 Book Updates, Health
The British Medical Association has issued new guidance to General Practitioners (GPs) on the Freedom of Information Act advising them to be open about operation success rate data. My speculation is that the guidelines were issued in response to sustained pressure to end the lack of transparency about this type of information, which I highlighted [...]
