Author, 'Freedom of Information: A practical guidebook', https://t.co/FWAs7iViST. FOI expert & consultant. Writer in residence, Birkbeck College politics dept. ExBBC.
Jul 14, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
John Edwards at ICO launch of 3 year strategy: ICO will publish its internal data protection and FOI training materials today #ICO25
Info Commissioner John Edwards @JCE_IC - Fundamental change needed in my office on FOI, need to do more with less, cannot continue in same way #ICO25
Nov 25, 2021 • 22 tweets • 9 min read
Info Commissioner Elizabeth Denham tells @CommonsPACAC there is a "need for urgent reform in legislation as well as more powers and resources for our office"
@CommonsPACAC Denham, in her oral evidence to @CommonsPACAC: FOI working well at local level, but for more politically complex/sensitive requests timeliness and openness have deteriorated; and oversight of FOI act is not fit for purpose
Nov 24, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Important Upper Tribunal decision relating to common practice of public authorities to withhold exact numbers where they are under 5 - Tribunal rules that NHSBSA was *wrong* to do this & shld release exact figs (via @11kbw): assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6135fb74…
Public bodies replying to FOI requests say they do this to protect personal data. The Tribunal rules the legal issue is a binary test of whether an individual is identifiable from the info, and not to do with "identification risk". In this case NHSBSA wrongly withheld exact figs.
