Article: Lament for the public loo
Oct 10, 2008 Articles, Campaigns, Local Government
Public services should be for the many not the few
The Big Issue, September 2008
By Heather Brooke
In for a penny in for a pound or at least 50 pence. That’s how much you’ll pay to visit the so-called public toilets around Parliament.
Local councils say the reason for leasing out the loos to private companies is [...]
Article: council audits
Sep 24, 2008 Articles, Local Government
Get your nose stuck into the council’s books
The Big Issue, August 2008
Government bureaucrats spend a lot of money telling us what they wants us to know but very little on what we actually want to know, namely how they spend our money.
I discovered this first hand after putting MPs’ rhetoric to the test in relation [...]
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 [...]
Taxpayer funded political ads
Jul 31, 2007 Local Government, Transport
How come the Mayor of London gets to advertise himself at taxpayer expense? I was wondering this as I spotted yet another ‘public service’ poster on London’s tube. These posters seem to become more frequent as the service declines. And their tone is increasingly hectoring with one spotted today reading: ‘Don’t take it out on [...]
Article: Google maps give direction
Jul 3, 2007 Articles, Local Government
I wrote this article after attending a conference on geographical information systems. It was also blogged about on the Guardian’s Free our Data campaign site.
Councils bypass Ordnance Survey for Google Maps
The Guardian, Thursday May 31, 2007
Local authorities are increasingly using the free application from the search giant on their websites
Navigating your way around a local [...]
London Mayor’s appointment diary
Oct 30, 2006 FOI in the news, Freedom of Information, Local Government
On Monday 23 October, the Evening Standard published a double-page spread based on documents I freed from the Mayor of London’s Office.
I made a Freedom of Information request for the Mayor’s appointment diary for the past financial year (March 2004-April 2005) and to Ken Livingstone’s credit, I received 78 pages detailing the mayor’s meetings, lunches, [...]
Fire Safety reports
Oct 18, 2006 Law Enforcement, Local Government
News at last! It’s only taken 18 months, but I had a call from an investigator at the Information Commissioner’s Office last week to say that the prohibition on disclosure that blocked the release of fire inspection reports (section 21 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971) was repealed by the new Fire Safety law that [...]
Your rights to inspect local records
Oct 9, 2006 Environment, Local Government
Do you know your rights when it comes to inspecting local authority records? Most people in the UK do not.
Local authorities are required by section 8 of the Local Land Charges Act 1975 to allow any person to search in the Local Land Charges Register on payment of the prescribed fee, currently £11.00 per parcel [...]
FOI reveals payouts for children’s home abuse
Oct 4, 2006 FOI in the news, Justice & Courts, Local Government
The South Wales Echo has published a noteworthy investigation into the compensation paid out to victims of abuse in children’s homes.
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
