Kicked into the long grass
Jul 20, 2006 Access Laws, FOI in the news
The Press Gazette reports a story about a reporter who waited 18 months for the Home Office to respond positively to his request. While not quite the record the article states (many of us are still awaiting rulings from the Information Commissioner for appeals filed as long ago as March 2005), it nonetheless contains some [...]
Bendy Bus Accidents
Jul 13, 2006 Transport
I found this data kicking around in my office and thought there might be others who would find it interesting, so I’ve finally posted it online. These are the databases of all accidents reported to Transport for London on routes where Bendy Buses operate.
The documents detail accidents on bendy bus routes 12, 18, 25, [...]
Prosecuted for publishing public information
Jul 11, 2006 Access Laws, Central Government
A reader of the blog has pointed out that Crown Copyright is again being used as a means of stopping the free flow of public information.
Craig Murray, former ambassador to Uzbekistan, received several documents from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office under the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts. He posted these on [...]
Investigative Journalism School
Jul 11, 2006 FOI in the news
I’ll be presenting a module on Freedom of Information at the Investigative Journalism Summer School that runs 21-23 July. This is an excellent 3-day seminar that covers a wide variety of topics of interst of interest to investigative reporters.
I’m particularly keen to get British journalists involved in computer-assisted reporting and there will be [...]
Voters without maps
Jul 5, 2006 Access Laws, Central Government, Local Government
Anyone who doubts the restrictive effect of Crown Copyright need look no further than this example
FOI is global
Jul 4, 2006 Access Laws, FOI in the news
My friend David Banisar has just completed the first draft of his latest global survey of freedom of information laws. Sixty eight countries now have access laws that give citizens a right to know.
Go to http://www.freedominfo.org to download the new report: “Freedom of Information Around the World 2006: A Global Survey of Access to [...]
Council spending
Jul 3, 2006 Local Government
This is the time of year when councils must open their full accounts to the public. The Audit Commission Act 1998 gives local council taxpayers a right to view all the accounts and accompanying documents for the annual audit for 20 working days. This includes the right to inspect all books, deeds, contracts, bills, [...]
