🚨NEW
FOIs are essential and they are under threat!
@openDemocracy has released its new report 'Access Denied' today which uncovers the govt's failure to comply to FOI requests, with the 2020 FOI disclosure rates "lowest...since records began in 2005".
opendemocracy.net/en/freedom-of-…
FOIs are essential and they are under threat!
@openDemocracy has released its new report 'Access Denied' today which uncovers the govt's failure to comply to FOI requests, with the 2020 FOI disclosure rates "lowest...since records began in 2005".
opendemocracy.net/en/freedom-of-…
The news follows on from previous reporting by @openDemocracy, which revealed the existence of the 'Orwellian' Clearing House, a unit operating within the Cabinet Office accused of 'blacklisting' journalists:
https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1402648936834273283?s=20
Indeed, @allthecitizens have encountered numerous instances of the Cabinet Office and other departments refusing to answer FOI's.
As with our investigations into Palantir, where they took 145 days to respond, and only did so after a warning from the ICO:
As with our investigations into Palantir, where they took 145 days to respond, and only did so after a warning from the ICO:
https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1368992443060924421?s=20
Or our efforts to uncover how much the government was paying for PPE, where the government repeatedly applied a Section 43 (commercial interests) exemption, redacting huge sections of high-value public sector contracts:
https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1406967107607220229?s=20
Most shockingly, in our endeavours to get answers on ministers' use of private message apps, we sent 50 FOI requests, in a campaign that took over 700 days, and only found out through legal action about a policy obliging officials to delete instant chats:
https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1447991521085698061?s=20
Such is the fixation of the government in trying to hide from scrutiny, that six government departments have spent over half a million pounds in the last four years trying to block information being released under the FOI act:
theguardian.com/politics/2021/…
theguardian.com/politics/2021/…
Even when information is made available to journalists and the public, it has been found on more than one occasion to contain discrepancies when compared to official statements:
theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/o…
theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/o…
The extent of the problem has even begun to shock other Conservative MPs:
https://twitter.com/DavidDavisMP/status/1452556331773276170?s=20
and attacks on transparency are now coming from all sides.
It was recently reported that incoming Information Commissioner John Edwards intimated that the public could start being charged for the service, while the campaign that helped bring about the act might now face closure:
It was recently reported that incoming Information Commissioner John Edwards intimated that the public could start being charged for the service, while the campaign that helped bring about the act might now face closure:
As yesterday's report highlights, while efforts to close avenues for FOI requests increase, "government departments are cynically exploiting a legal loophole to deny timely access to information"
https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1452697517813125122?s=20
Tory SpAds are now also allowed to 'approve' transparency disclosures.
When government is allowed to hijack a public service which is supposed to remain impartial, accountability is completely undermined, perhaps permanently.
Democracy dies in darkness
opendemocracy.net/en/freedom-of-…
When government is allowed to hijack a public service which is supposed to remain impartial, accountability is completely undermined, perhaps permanently.
Democracy dies in darkness
opendemocracy.net/en/freedom-of-…
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