Shouldn’t we have our own Sunshine Week?
Mar 14, 2007 Freedom of Information
The United States is celebrating its annual ‘Sunshine Week’ – a national campaign focusing on the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, non-profits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know.
The American Society of Newspaper Editors coordinates the campaign and [...]
Article for US Sunshine Week
Mar 14, 2007 Articles, Freedom of Information
Across the Pond: A Ray of Light May be Snuffed Out
By Heather Brooke
Published: March 12, 2007
Freedom of Information in Britain is more like a candle flame than the sunshine laws familiar to Americans. Yet despite this country’s late arrival to open government legislation, the British Press are ditching their traditional skepticism and banding together to [...]
My FOI consultation submission
Mar 14, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
For those interested in the ongoing public consultation into the Government’s attempt to curtail our open government law, I have uploaded my submission here. It takes the form of a section of general comments followed by a shorter section related to specific questions asked in the highly restrictive ‘consultation’ document.
General comments
Format and costings used [...]
An enterprising approach to secrecy
Mar 14, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
Another reader of this blog has been threatened with prosecution if he dares publish information received under the freedom of information law.
The Office of Fair Trading released data to the requestor in response to his question, but then threatened him with criminal charges under the Enterprise Act 2002 if he discloses the FOI response [...]
Civil servants’ reading list grows
Mar 13, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
A whopping 184 submissions arrived on the desks of Government in response to the consultation on changing the Freedom of Information Act. That’s a lot of civil servant reading and ‘thinking’ time. Can we now add this cost to the total amount wasted by politicians in their attempt to undo a law they implemented just [...]
How to fight the proposed FOI changes
Mar 2, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
A new petition on the No.10 e-petitions website calls for signatories opposed to the Private Member’s Bill that would exempt the Westminster Parliament from its own FoI Act.
The petition is sponsored by Barry Winetrobe at the Centre for Law at Napier University and he’s hoping that with enough supporters, this bill will be rejected.
Please sign [...]
