Category: government departments

Justice committee’s report on FOIA – Commentary on the ss.35 & 36 recommendations – Panopticon

Posted July 27th, 2012 in freedom of information, government departments, news, veto by sally

“As Tim Pitt-Payne QC commented in his post on the report earlier today, the Committee’s report has not landed a bombshell in the middle of the FOIA landscape. To a very large extent, the report endorses the current structure and content of the legislation, something which the Commissioner clearly welcomes. However, whilst the Committee has largely resisted calls for FOIA to be amended, it has commented fairly extensively on how the Act should be applied in practice. This commentary is doubtless going to influence the evolution of FOIA case-law for the foreseeable future.”

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Panopticon, 26th July 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Court to force clean up of UK’s air pollution – The Independent

Posted July 16th, 2012 in EC law, environmental health, government departments, news, pollution by sally

“The Government faces a Supreme Court action this week demanding that it slash air pollution levels by 2015. Lawyers acting for the environmental charity ClientEarth are making a legal challenge to force the coalition to cut levels of lethal nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to within European Commission limits.”

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The Independent, 15th July 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Move to ’20-year-rule’ for secret papers will cost £52m – BBC News

Posted July 16th, 2012 in archives, disclosure, freedom of information, government departments, news by sally

“The Ministry of Justice says reducing the ’30-year rule’ for publishing secret government papers to 20 years will cost up to £52m.”

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BBC News, 13th July 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Number Ten needs its own lawyer, says leading QC – BBC News

Posted June 6th, 2012 in attorney general, government departments, legal services, news by sally

“A former legal adviser at the Foreign Office has said that legal issues are not addressed as effectively as they might be at the heart of government because the Prime Minister does not have a lawyer among his immediate circle of advisers.”

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BBC News, 5th June 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Almost 1,000 data offences recorded at DWP in 10 month period – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 22nd, 2012 in data protection, government departments, news, penalties by sally

“Staff at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were disciplined a total of 992 times for unlawfully or inappropriately accessing individuals’ social security records between April 2011 and January this year.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd May 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

NHS risk register’s publication vetoed by cabinet – The Guardian

Posted May 9th, 2012 in freedom of information, government departments, health, news, veto by sally

“The official assessment of the risks involved in the government’s NHS shakeup will never be published after the cabinet exercised its rare right of veto to keep it secret.”

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The Guardian, 8th May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

“Thinking the unthinkable”? Freedom of information and the NHS Risk Register – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 16th, 2012 in freedom of information, government departments, health, news by sally

“In a recent post, Panopticon brought you, hot-off-the-press, the Tribunal’s decision in the much-publicised case involving publication, under Freedom of Information Law, of the NHS Risk Register. Somewhat less hot-off-the-press are my observations. This is a very important decision, both for its engagement with the legislative process and for its analysis of the public interest with respect to section 35(1)(a) of Freedom of Information Act 2000 (formulation or development of government policy) – particularly the ‘chilling effect’ argument. At the outset, it is important to be clear about what was being requested and when.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th April 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Michael Gove appeals against ruling on misuse of email – The Guardian

Posted March 30th, 2012 in electronic mail, freedom of information, government departments, news, political parties by tracey

“The education secretary, Michael Gove, is challenging a ruling by the information commissioner that he used a private email account for departmental business.”

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The Guardian, 29th March 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Government’s IP policy-making to be scrutinised in cross-party group inquiry – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 19th, 2012 in government departments, inquiries, intellectual property, news by sally

“The way that Government determines policies on intellectual property (IP) issues is to be reviewed by a cross-party group of MPs.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th March 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Whitehall’s worries about Freedom of Information case – BBC News

Posted March 8th, 2012 in civil servants, freedom of information, government departments, news, tribunals by sally

“Could publishing a Whitehall document outlining the possible risks of the NHS shake-up pose a risk to good governance? That’s been the argument made in an appeal against a Freedom of Information ruling in central London this week.”

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BBC News, 8th March 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government department must disclose data from private email correspondence, ICO rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 6th, 2012 in disclosure, electronic mail, freedom of information, government departments, news by sally

“The Department for Education (DfE) must disclose information sent from a private email address belonging to the Education Secretary unless there is a legitimate reason to refuse doing so, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th March 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Freedom of Information: this scaremongering leads to nothing but misinformation – The Guardian

Posted February 20th, 2012 in data protection, freedom of information, government departments, news by sally

“The information commissioner writes that Whitehall insiders’ criticisms of the Freedom of Information laws are nonsense.”

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The Guardian, 19th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Secrecy laws ‘don’t harm the work of ministers’, says information commissioner – The Guardian

Posted February 20th, 2012 in freedom of information, government departments, news by sally

“Christopher Graham, the information commissioner, has hit out against the ‘distinguished Whitehall insiders’ who have called for the repeal of the freedom of information laws currently under review by parliament.”

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The Guardian, 19th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Public Sector Equality Duty – what does it mean and how does it work? – No. 5 Chambers

Posted February 15th, 2012 in equality, government departments, local government, news by sally

“This paper deals with the present state of the law concerning the Public Sector Quality Duty (‘the PSED’) and how public bodies are required to act in order to comply with the duty.”

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No. 5 Chambers, 6th February 2012

Source: www.no5.com

The law-making process: could do better! – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted October 31st, 2011 in employment, government departments, legislative drafting, news, tribunals by sally

“‘Good regulation is a good thing’ is the trite introduction to the government’s red tape challenge, before saying we have too much of the other sort. The proposition is that reducing the quantity of regulation is the answer. This is myopic because if quantity is one possible burden on business, so is poor quality law. Poor quality is not about political or policy disagreements, but simply the production of badly-drafted law that is difficult to understand, because it is too complex or simply unclear.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 28th October 2011

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Jonathan Djanogly faces inquiries into legal aid profits – The Guardian

Posted October 12th, 2011 in bills, conflict of interest, government departments, inquiries, legal aid, news by sally

“Jonathan Djanogly, the justice minister, has admitted for the first time to MPs that inquiries had been launched by his own department and the Cabinet Office following an investigation by the Guardian that revealed he could personally profit from changes he was piloting in the Commons.”

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The Guardian, 11th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jonathan Djanogly forced to act over conflict of interest claims – The Guardian

Posted October 10th, 2011 in bills, conflict of interest, government departments, legal aid, news by sally

“The justice minister Jonathan Djanogly has been forced to publicly declare in the parliamentary register that his controversial stakes in the insurance industry have been placed in a ‘blind trust’, after a Guardian investigation revealed that he could personally profit from legislation he is piloting in the Commons.”

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The Guardian, 9th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Councils and police rebuked for hi-tech snooping on public – The Independent

Posted July 18th, 2011 in government departments, investigatory powers, local government, news, police, terrorism by sally

“Britain’s surveillance watchdog has reprimanded police forces, councils and government departments for overusing powers intended to clamp down on terrorism to snoop on members of the public.”

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The Independent, 17th July 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Alignment of prosecutions between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Crown Prosecution Service – Attorney General’s Office

Posted July 13th, 2011 in Crown Prosecution Service, government departments, press releases, prosecutions by tracey

“The Attorney General and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced today the transfer of Defra’s prosecution function to the CPS and the remainder of their legal team to the Treasury Solicitor’s Department.”

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Attorney General’s Office, 12th July 2011

Source: www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk

Government IT plans need more security information, says Parliamentary committee – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 7th, 2011 in data protection, government departments, internet, news by sally

“Government plans to make more services available online and to use cloud computing to deliver public services need to be clearer on how information will be protected, a House of Commons committee has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th July 2011

Source: www.out-law.com