The House of Commons needs to get its act together on FOI
The House of Commons just does not seem to grasp “Freedom of Information”, they refused to provide me with copies of documents on the grounds they were not information despite an ICO Decision Notice that clearly indicates that this approach is wrong:
Paragraph 18 of the ICO Decision notice FS50076355 states that:
“Defra has advised the Commissioner that public authorities are
only required to release information, not documents. Consequently,
it believes that to provide a summary is adequate. The Commissioner
does not accept this view. The Act provides a right of access to
recorded information held by a public authority. This will normally
be fulfilled through access to existing documents or electronic
media, though in some cases the information can, or should, be
disclosed through other means. The Commissioner’s approach is
consistent with paragraph 6 of the Explanatory Notes to the Act
which states that the Act provides access to documents, or copies
of documents as well as to information.”
The House of Commons has now missed its own deadline for dealing with my complaint. Yes this is a rant and yes I am angry about this.
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/clerks_expenses#outgoing-19843