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Campaign for Freedom of Information Profile picture
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Nov 29 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
📢Social housing providers would be covered by #FOI under a proposed amendment to the #SocialHousing (Regulation) Bill whose Commons committee stage starts today. The Campaign supports proposed New Clause 9 tabled by Shadow Housing minister @mtpennycook & drafted by @gmlawcentre
The Bill proposes a new and limited ‘access to information scheme’ for social housing tenants. The Campaign believes the more obvious and effective solution would be to bring social housing providers under the Freedom of Information Act.
This has already been done in Scotland, where registered social landlords were brought under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act in November 2019. @ICOnews has also called for registered social landlords in other parts of the UK to be made subject to FOI.
Our detailed briefing for MPs contains over 20 examples of providers refusing requests for information about fire safety, health hazards, empty properties and other issues:

cfoi.org.uk/2022/11/social…

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More from @CampaignFoI

Campaign for Freedom of Information Profile picture
Dec 6
📢 We are urging peers to amend the National Security Bill whose Lords 2nd reading is today. It creates wide offences for people who use ‘restricted’ info to prejudice key govt policies if they have been funded by any non-UK government.

#FOI #NationalSecurity #officialsecrets Clause 1 of the National Se...
Civil society orgs with grants from friendly govts for work on environment, human rights, press freedom, asylum, aid etc may commit an offence by using such info to block govt policies. Journalists working for non-UK state broadcasters may also be at risk.
Info is ‘restricted’ if people know or should know govt does not wish to release it to protect UK interests. These are determined by govt and could include energy policies damaging to the environment or measures to limit asylum.
Read 4 tweets
Campaign for Freedom of Information Profile picture
Jul 13
Excellent news @ICOnews has listened to the Campaign and others in the FOI community and is "committing to delivering more systemic enforcement action against public authorities that clearly and consistently fail to meet their #FOI obligations.
We have also called for greater transparency about the ICO's #FOI casework, so welcome the commitment to publishing "quarterly updates on our FOI casework so people can see how we are performing as a regulator and how long they can expect to have their cases resolved".
The ICO is also looking at how it can speed up #FOI complaints handling by:
🔴prioritising requests where there is a clear public interest
🔴early resolution w/out a formal decision notice in some cases
🔴exploring how it can clear the existing backlog more quickly than planned.
Read 4 tweets
Campaign for Freedom of Information Profile picture
Jun 6
📢 MPs debate the #NationalSecurity Bill today. @CampaignFoI & @a19right2info have serious concerns about the implications of the Bill for journalists and those working for civil society organisations who receive some funding from foreign governments.
#FOI #officialsecrets
The publication of leaked information which prejudices the UK’s interests would be an offence with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The identical act by someone without foreign government funding might not be an offence at all.
CSOs based in, or with a presence in the UK, which have received foreign governments for their int'l work include: @ActionAidUK, @Anti_Slavery, @article19org, @ClientEarth, @Global_Witness, @IndexCensorship, @mediadefence, @OCCRP, @privacyint, @ReprieveUK, @TransparencyUK.
Read 4 tweets
Campaign for Freedom of Information Profile picture
May 31
New: @ICOnews Freedom of Information backlog remains high. On 25.4.22:
🔴 there were 2,272 active #FOI cases
🔴 the oldest dates from 6.3.20 (It involves the Cabinet Office and exemption for security bodies)
🔴 45% are over 6 months old
🔴 20% are over 9 m
🔴 7% are over 12 m
The ICO’s Director of #FOI and Transparency said in May 2022 that the caseload was still over 1,000 cases greater than it was before the Covid outbreak. The new figures illustrate the difficulty the ICO faces in reducing its backlog.
ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/…
We have urged @JCE_IC @ICOnews to do more to address #FOI delays, by using its power to serve ‘enforcement notices’ on authorities with large backlogs of requests. These can require multiple overdue requests to be answered by a set deadline.
Read 5 tweets
Campaign for Freedom of Information Profile picture
Mar 17
The @ICOnews has disclosed a briefing document prepared for new Commissioner @JCE_IC on developing its #FOI strategy. whatdotheyknow.com/request/822108…
It refers to longstanding criticisms @CampaignFOI has made of @ICOnews over the extent to which it uses its enforcement powers under #FOI and a lack of focus on its FOI work compared to data protection.
It also says "delays in our complaint handling system do understandably draw criticism from some high-profile groups, including the @CampaignFoI and @openDemocracy" and "@MySociety have suggested that the Access to Information brief should be split out of the ICO's functions".
Read 6 tweets
Campaign for Freedom of Information Profile picture
Nov 2, 2021
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill has its 2nd reading in @UKHouseofLords today.

We are calling for peers to reverse ARIA's exemption from Freedom of Information.

cfoi.org.uk/2021/11/lords-…

#FOI #ARIA #opengovuk
The idea that complying with #FOI would be an obstacle to the UK becoming or remaining a ‘science superpower’ is utterly implausible. The obstacles to innovation by funding bodies have been discussed at length and do not include FOI.
All public bodies have important tasks to fulfil in the public interest & ltd resources. ARIA has no greater claim to avoid complying with #FOI than any other body. On the contrary, its budget, which outstrips that of many FOI bodies, provides compelling grounds for its inclusion
Read 6 tweets

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