‘It is important that a council’s code of conduct complaints process remains confidential, the First-tier Tribunal has said in rejecting an appeal over the refusal of a freedom of information request.’
Local Government Lawyer, 16th November 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘FOIA remains a potent tool for enhancing transparency on issues of great public importance. Two recent decisions – concerning the Chilcot Inquiry and the post-prime ministerial activities of Tony Blair – are good current illustrations.’
Panopticon, 10th November 2016
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
‘A borough council has won an appeal in the First-tier Tribunal against a decision notice of the Information Commissioner requiring disclosure of information relating to payroll and pension services provided by the authority to schools.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th October 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A doctor has successfully prevented the General Medical Council (GMC) from disclosing a report concerning an investigation in his professional competence to one of his patients.’
OUT-LAW.com, 4th October 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
‘A man jailed for 25 years for his role in a drug-smuggling plot has scored a victory over the Ministry of Justice, which has been told it failed to carry out ‘reasonable research’ about imports of kosher food into prisons.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 28th September 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A human rights group has challenged the government’s refusal to disclose whether ministers or Downing Street officials were involved in a decision not to prosecute anyone over an espionage operation to kidnap two Libyan dissidents.’
The Guardian, 21st August 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Adam Speker and Felicity McMahon are running a session on “Protecting Public Officials and Corporates” at Conference5RB on 29 September 2016. Here they discuss some of the issues which will be explored.’
5RB, 7th July 2016
Source: www.5rb.com
‘Local Enterprise Partnerships must be covered by local government transparency rules and the Freedom of Information Act “to prevent billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being hidden from public scrutiny”, media organisations have argued.’
Local Government Lawyer, 8th July 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The First-tier Tribunal has upheld a transport body’s refusal to disclose, following a freedom of information request, advice given by counsel in 2005.’
Local Government Lawyer, 27th June 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The government has spent at least £600,000 of taxpayers’ money trying to prevent a civil case being brought against it by a husband and wife who allege that British intelligence was complicit in their detention, rendition and torture.’
The Guardian, 26th June 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘If I am an extremely well-regarded academic at Cambridge (don’t snigger at the back, I could be) and due to my eminence I do some unpaid voluntary work for a major international group (here, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change), the work in relation to which I do over my university email account, are those emails held by the University under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”)?’
Panopticon, 10th June 2016
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
‘Last year, the chief prisons inspector called Yarl’s Wood ‘a place of national concern’ following concerns over alleged sexual abuse and intimidation of women detained there.’
The Independent, 13th June 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A series of secret internal inquiries into the deaths of people claiming social security reveal that ministers were repeatedly warned of shortcomings in the treatment of vulnerable claimants facing potentially traumatic cuts to their benefits entitlements.’
The Guardian, 13th May 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Judges shouldn’t be frightened to set precedents. A list of those that have “gone too far” – including over a Guardian freedom of information request on the Prince of Wales’s letters – risks deterring justice.’
The Guardian, 12th May 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Freedom of Information Act is here to stay. At any rate for the time being. That is the good news implicit in the statement on 1 March 2016 by Matt Hancock, the UK Cabinet Office Minister, that, “this government is committed to making government more transparent”.’
OUP Blog, 10th May 2016
Source: http://blog.oup.com
‘There has long been considerable public concern over the restraint techniques used in young offender institutions and secure training centres. In Willow v Information Commissioner & Ministry of Justice [2016] UKUT 157 (AAC), the Upper Tribunal had to consider the public interest balance as it applied to section 31(1)(f) FOIA, i.e. information prejudicial to the maintenance of security and good order in prisons or other institutions in which people are detained. The request had been for the physical restraint training manual, and the FTT had upheld the application of the exemption.’
Panopticon, 6th May 2016
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
‘The government is paying more than £4m each year in compensation to people who were held unlawfully in immigration detention centres, figures show.’
BBC News, 20th April 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act has been in the news again, when the controversial Independent Commission, much to the surprise of many, concluded the Act was ‘generally working well’, had ‘enhanced openness and transparency… there is no evidence that the Act needs to be radically altered’.’
OUP Blog, 10th April 2016
Source: http://blog.oup.com
‘The Royal Family has been the subject of a good deal of information rights litigation. The most famous is of course the Evans saga, about the ‘advocacy correspondence’ of Prince Charles. There have also been cases about (to name just a few subjects) the cost of police protection for the Royal Family, whether or not the Duchy of Lancaster is a public authority, royal wills and alleged heirs to the throne, as well as – most recently – whether the Duke or Duchy of Cornwall is a public authority for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs). The most recent judgment focuses on Her Majesty the Queen herself, and reveals the views of Charles (J).’
Panopticon, 7th April 2016
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
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