Freedom of Information
The UK’s Freedom of Information Act (or FOI) received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000. The right to request access to information under the Act came into force on 1 January 2005. At the same time the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 came into force. Between them, these two pieces of legislation ushered in a new era of openness in the public sector.
The FOI Man Blog and Website
The FOI Man blog was launched in the autumn of 2010, alongside a popular Twitter feed @FOIManUK. It covers all issues related to the UK’s Freedom of Information Act from the perspective of an FOI practitioner (or FOI Officer). The avowed intent of the blog is to look at FOI from a new point of view. From the inside.
Most posts are written by FOI Man himself, but guest posts are always welcome. If you want to submit something for publication on the site, please get in touch via email – foimanuk [at] gmail [dot] com.
Who is FOI Man?
My name is Paul Gibbons. I have been working in FOI, directly or indirectly, for over 10 years. Before then, I had spent many years as a records manager in both the private and public sectors.
As Parliamentary Records Manager ten years ago I sought improvements to records management across both Houses of Parliament in preparation for FOI. Wanting more direct involvement in FOI preparations, I moved upriver to work for the Mayor of London at the Greater London Authority (GLA), developing and implementing procedures, delivering training, providing advice to politicians and staff, and, of course, answering FOI requests. During that time I also chaired the Greater London Authority FOI Network, a forum of FOI practitioners from key London bodies including Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the Olympic Delivery Authority. After leaving the GLA, I worked briefly for an NHS Hospital Trust before moving to my current role as Information Compliance Manager for the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), a college of the University of London.
In addition to all of this practical experience of FOI, I have two Masters degrees in information management, the most recent an LLM (with distinction) in Information Rights, Law and Practice awarded by the University of Northumbria in 2009. My thesis covered the exemptions relating to policy development in the FOI Act and Environmental Information Regulations (ie sections 35 and 36 of the FOI Act, and reg. 12(4)(e) of the EIR).
I hope that all of the above qualifies me to write with authority about FOI and public sector transparency issues. However, I’m not a lawyer, so nothing said here, on Twitter or elsewhere should be taken as legal advice. All of the views expressed here are my own personal opinions unless otherwise stated.
Most of all, I write this blog because I am fascinated by FOI, and I hope that anyone reading it will share my enthusiasm.