Ten years of FOI – a personal reflection
FOIMan reflects on ten years of FOI in his latest article for PDP’s Freedom of Information Journal. Happy new year. Like many others I return to work today after an extended Christmas break, refreshed and …
Finding information on gov.uk and ico.org.uk
FOIMan reviews the Information Commissioner’s latest website revamp via a grumble about gov.uk. The way people prefer to find information is subjective. On my Records Management training courses I illustrate this by giving delegates a …
FOI v Open Data?
FOIMan questions Cabinet Minister Francis Maude’s suggestion that FOI requests will be made redundant by the government’s transparency and open data initiatives. Francis Maude made a speech earlier today about government transparency and open data. It …
Local Government? FOI is the least of your problems
FOIMan reviews the current regulatory state of Town Hall Transparency. Freedom of Information (FOI) regularly receives a bad press from public authorities, and in particular from the Local Government Association, who like to highlight “wacky” …
Christmas 2014/15 UK FOI Deadlines
FOIMan’s early Christmas present to you. A ready reference chart of FOI deadlines over the festive season. With so many Bank Holidays over the Christmas and new year period, it is easy to lose track …
The politics of records management
FOIMan reflects on how his boring records management work has twice found its way into the national press and considers whether there are lessons for others who manage their organisation’s information. The Telegraph reported earlier …