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Pitching for a new crackdown on transparency? The China excuse
Within freedom of information practice, national security has always been a key consideration, and you will really struggle to get information that could in any way risk national security, whatever the public interest.[1] The Security Services, GCHQ, and even the National Crime Agency, are completely exempt from the UK Freedom of Information Act.[2] I would go as far as saying this is not the right approach, given the consequences that unqualified opacity around public bodies with such far-ranging powers to constrict individual liberty can have. I would personally prefer an approach like the US, where national security bodies such as…
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Open policing? How the Met Police withheld a report on its failures to police violence against women for more than three years.
Over the last few years, I have been looking into how effectively the police protect women and children. To do this, I have been filing FOI requests for internal police documents called “problem profiles”. These reports are really useful, because they concisely set out a police force’s performance in these specific crime areas, and usually come with internal recommendations on what needs to be improved. Of course, that also shows where things are going wrong, crucial for police accountability. In 2021, I was able to use these reports to reveal how police forces were concerned about their ability to protect…
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From FOI blog to formal regulatory rebuke: The case of the former Attorney General’s emails
As we report on today in The Times, the government has been issued with an unprecedented formal rebuke by the transparency watchdog for wrongly interfering to block one of my freedom of information requests. I wrote a blog in January setting out the challenge I faced trying to get hold of information on how Suella Braverman used her private email account whilst in office, including details of the apparent political interference in the process. The practice notification issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office cites that blog post. I had shared the correspondence used in it drawn from my FOIs and…
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The FOI enforcement loophole: The case of Dominic Cummings
Rights are only rights when they come with a mechanism of enforcement. Otherwise, they are just pretty words. If ones tries leaving a restaurant without settling the bill one will quickly find out about how property rights are enforced. Traditionally, FOI requests have not faced issues with enforcement. If a government department holds a document and the transparency regulator orders its release, not doing this would be treated as contempt of court. Even the most recalcitrant departments are unlikely to risk what would follow from that. Government by WhatsApp But what happens when disclosure is ordered of a document which…
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The power of delay
Last year, I wrote about the issues I faced in trying to get hold of a copy of Rishi Sunak’s disclosure of interests to the Cabinet Office. Sunak was found to have breached parliamentary rules inadvertently by failing to declare his wife’s shareholding in a company which would benefit from government childcare policies. Following the story, I asked for a copy of his full disclosure of interests, to see if there were any other conflicts. Under the rules, ministers have to disclose all relevant interests. The Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards then determines what material disclosed should be placed in…
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Brotherly love: How the Foreign Office spent months trying to redact a simple term of endearment
Last year, as was widely reported, Boris Johnson took a sojourn to Venezuela for talks with its autocratic leader, Nicolas Maduro. He later received a ticking off from regulator ACOBA for “failing to clarify” his relationship with the hedge fund that set up the trip. Controversy also arose around how much the Foreign Office knew about the visit. The department briefed that Johnson had been in contact with the then foreign secretary, David Cameron, to discuss it, including via text. Knowing this would be disclosable, I duly filed an FOI request. The pair had been political rivals since their time in the Bullingdon Club…
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What happens when an FOI is selected for special treatment: intel gathering and obfuscation
Journalists often get the feeling that their FOI is being treated differently. It may be something which should be straightforward that suddenly takes months. It might be getting a phone call from a press officer despite having not approached the department for comment yet, or finding material being withheld on consistently flimsy grounds despite an obvious public interest. A key principle of FOI requests is that they should be handled in an “applicant blind manner”. A request from Sue Smith of Tunbridge Wells about her bin collection times should be treated in the same manner as one from a seasoned…
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Labour’s post-it note solution to FOI
The 20-year anniversary of the coming into force of the freedom of information act is a momentous occasion. For all the very real issues with the legislation, the delays, the obfuscation and the issues with enforcement, FOIA has been a true leveller in the public right to information. No longer do people need to have connections as an insider, expert, or journalist, to obtain important information about how government affects their lives. It has also set a basic standard for government transparency, which has made it harder for government to obfuscate indefinitely. The government can delay, but if information is…
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Trying to open the black box: how the government has resisted transparency about the civil service ethics watchdog
The average member of the public probably hasn’t heard of the Propriety and Ethics Team (PET). The unit, recently renamed the propriety and constitution team, sits at the heart of government in the Cabinet Office and performs a key public service role It is responsible for advising on the handling of any potential conflicts of interest for ministers, as well as vetting those the prime minister proposes for ministerial office. It also handles ethical concerns across central government, advises on public appointments, and oversees the honours system. Given its key responsibilities one might think a significant amount of information would…
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What happens when the ICO declines to regulate?
When the ICO declines to adequately enforce its own rulings, it leaves requesters in a regulatory no-man’s land, undermining their rights to access information. Unlike in other countries, where requesters can pursue legal remedies directly, in the UK, requestors are almost entirely reliant on the ICO to uphold their information rights. On the one hand, this makes enforcing one’s information rights in the UK accessible for all. You don’t have to spend thousands of pounds on lawyers to enforce your rights, as you would have to do in the US and other jurisdictions. That in practice limits the ability to…
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Relight My FOIA 