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November 2009

The Archives

• 11.30.09
  Duchy case under active consideration duchy_of_lancaster | (0)

  I am pleased to report that the ICO is actively considering the Duchy of Lancaster case. Recently I have been contacted by several people about this case and I think it is right that I keep interested parties updated. I do not want to go into too much detail as it might not help the case.Today (30 November 2009), I receive an update from the ICO and it prompted me to write back quoting the Defra guidance on the coverage of the Environmental Information Regulations:"2.23 The Regulations do not apply to any public authority when it is acting ...
• 11.29.09
  ICO will make a formal statement on status of Duchy duchy_of_lancaster | (0)

  For those of you that have been following the Duchy of Lancaster Saga I have a brief update. "Therefore depending on the verdict, you will receive either:(1) A much more detailed letter explaining the Commissioner’s view that the Duchy is not a public authority under the Regulations. This verdict can be challenged by judicial review.(2) A Decision Notice explaining that the Duchy of Lancaster is caught by the EIR and that it must process your request. This can be challenged by either side to the Information Tribunal."Email from Information Commissioner's Office dated 26 November 2009.Although I am eager to ...
• 11.29.09
  How to beat the Section 21 Exemption locator_tools, section21 | (0)

  Section 21 is intended to apply to information that is already reasonably accessible to the applicant, e.g documents published on the internet or in books available to your local library. Unfortunately, some public authorities are using where the information can be obtained by making a very large number of queries to locator tools. For example in theory it is possible to obtain the phone numbers of all tax offices using the locator tool on the HMRC website. In practice it is very difficult to find the number for every office and even when you think you might ...
• 11.26.09
  How to get data released in electronic form soft_copy | (0)

  A lot of people who make FOI requests like to get the data in electronic form and I include myself in that.Often public authorities are reluctant to provide the information in electronic form perhaps because they would rather it was not republished or perhaps because it is a bit more work (in the short-term). Requesters often quote section 11 of the Act:"Where, on making his request for information, the applicant expresses a preference for communication by any one or more of the following means, namely—...the provision to the applicant of a copy of the information in permanent form or ...
• 11.21.09
  a right royal tax break monarchy, redaction, tax | (0)

  If you look at this response to a Freedom of Information Act request about the tax status of the Royal Family you can see that some of the information has been redacted... but the authority that responded to the request made a mistake, so when you highlight the paragraph you can read the text they didn't want you to know about:You can click on either of these pictures to see a larger image. You can also read the original document - to read the redacted text just highlight the relevant paragraphs with your mouse.The hidden text exposes the fact ...
• 11.08.09
  One Expensive Post Office court_post_office, royal_mail | (1)

  I am normally strongly against Post Office closures as I think the closure of a Post Office can contribute to the isolation of communities and of individuals. We all have to recognise though that providing a Post Office costs money and the money has to come from somewhere.I have recently obtained figures from the Royal Mail Group about the cost of running the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace. The cost is paid for by Grants-in-Aid from Government Departments i.e. the tax payer. The total cost for the year 2008-2009 was over £560,000. The postage cost was ...
• 11.01.09
  Uncategorized | (1)

  "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to support a change to the law to make Local Safeguarding Children Boards subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000."Sign this petition on the Prime Minister's websiteSafeguarding children is one of the most important functions that local and central government performs. It is vital that they get it right and we will only know they are getting it right if there is transparency.The core membership of Local Safeguarding Children Boards is set out in the Children Act 2004, and includes Local Authorities, health bodies, the police and others.Police forces, local authorities, state ...

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• Close HMRC’s FOI Loophole