When Brooke met Brooker
Jan 29, 2010 Access Laws, FOI in the news
I’m on the most recent episode of Charlie Brooker’s wonderfully acerbic Newswipe. Readers of my twitterfeed (@newsbrooke) may know that I’m a big fan of Brooker’s style of caustic and insightful humour so it was a real pleasure to be interviewed for the second series of his show about the news.
You can watch the [...]
Tribunal orders full disclosure
Feb 26, 2008 Access Laws, Campaigns, Central Government, FOI in Parliament, FOI in the news
Champagne all round – I won my case!
Late today the Information Tribunal published its decision ordering the House of Commons to provide full disclosure of MPs’ second home expenses claims. The decision is not yet on the Tribunal’s website but you can download it here (PDF 2MB).
The House is ordered to publish every claim [...]
FOI Filer and Archive goes live
Feb 26, 2008 Access Laws, Campaigns
The first testing stage of a new website that allows the public to request and track their own freedom of information requests is now live.
MySociety built the site and I’m working with the developers to add more contacts lists and guides for making requests and dealing with obstructive or unhelpful officials.
It’s always been my belief [...]
Data Protection Act makes a mockery of open justice
Jan 12, 2008 Access Laws, FOI in the news, Freedom of Information, Local Government
A decision by the Information Tribunal published recently has further fueled my belief that the Data Protection Act is the worst piece of legislation currently on the books. The Press Gazette reported the result of London Borough of Camden v Information Commissioner in which the Tribunal upheld Camden’s decision to keep secret the names [...]
Wholesale data theft
Nov 21, 2007 Access Laws
The loss of 25 million people’s personal records held by the UK tax authority illustrates the danger of keeping large, centralised databases.
Regardless of whether or not the data (which was burned onto CDs by a junior employee and lost in the post) falls into criminal hands and leads to wholesale identity theft, the sheer [...]
Decisions without democracy
Jul 24, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
A friend of mine, the global freedom of information guru David Banisar, has just released his report on government secrecy, decision-making and democracy. It’s a readable account of the growth of secrecy in the United States during the last six years.
The report shows the expansion of official secrecy in the United States and why this [...]
With the ICO, you’re the last to know
Jun 15, 2007 Access Laws, Central Government
This morning I happened to be at home. This was fortunate because I was able to take delivery of a decision notice sent by registered mail by the Information Commissioner. If I hadn’t been here – and usually I’m not – I would have been ignorant that my case seeking a detailed breakdown of MPs’ [...]
This man is ‘affecting good government’
May 31, 2007 Access Laws, Central Government
I read an article this week that could have come directly from the pages of any Kenyan or Nigerian newspaper where politicians are fighting off demands for the introduction of a Freedom of Information Act. In the piece, a senior government minister claimed that freedom of information is “placing good government at risk” by forcing [...]
The truth is in the data – or lack of it
Apr 5, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
Following on from the previous post, I received an answer yesterday to my FOI request seeking the full costs of the Government’s survey commissioned from Frontier Economics, the first consultation, and the ‘consultation on the consultation’.
I discovered that while the Government is content to spend taxpayers’ money on the cost of being accountable to the [...]
Consultation on a consultation
Apr 5, 2007 Access Laws, Freedom of Information
Bureaucrats’ love of bureaucracy never ceases to surprise me. Another example comes by way of the recent Government climbdown on emasculating the freedom of information law.
Not able to bring themselves to admit the whole exercise was a massive time-waster, the Government has instead initiated a consultation on their previous consultation. Apparentely, they didn’t like the [...]
