Attorney General vetoes release of Prince of Wales correspondence – Attorney General’s Office

“The Attorney General today issued a certificate under the Freedom of Information Act, both as it applies for the purposes of the Act and as it applies to the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, vetoing the disclosure of correspondence between HRH the Prince of Wales and ministers in seven government departments.”

Full statement

Attorney General’s Office, 16th October 2012

Source: www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk

Information stored in electronic recycle bins is held for purposes of FOI disclosure, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

“Public sector bodies will generally be required to disclose information even if it is stored in computer ‘recycle bins’, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 12th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Shrewsbury 24 case: Heath government discussed prosecution of union pickets – The Guardian

“Documents released by the National Archives could be key factor in quashing 40-year-old convictions.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

CPS admits to ‘inadvertent’ disclosure of tuition fee protestors’ data – OUT-LAW.com

“The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has apologised to hundreds of people after it ‘inadvertently disclosed’ their names, dates of birth and other personal data in a document as part of its response to a freedom of information (FOI) request.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 28th September 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Freedom of Information to include ministers’ private texts – BBC News

“Emails from private accounts and texts sent by the prime minister and cabinet members could be accessible under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI).”

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BBC News, 30th September 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police figures show corruption cases against 49 Met officers – The Guardian

“Forty-nine Metropolitan police officers were suspended for corruption over a three-year period, with figures showing 15 cases were proven, 18 unproven and 16 ongoing.”

Full story

The Guardian, 29th September 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

HRH the Prince of Wales: advocacy of an ordinary man – Panopticon

“The Upper Tribunal’s judgment in Evans v IC and Others (Seven Government Departments) [2012] UKUT 313 (AAC) (Mr Justice Walker, Professor John Angel and Suzanne Cosgrave), handed down yesterday, has received extensive media coverage – unsurprisingly so, given the subject matter (Prince Charles’ correspondence with government departments) and the requester (Rob Evans of the Guardian). The judgment is stupendously long (65 pages, plus 3 open annexes). Here are the salient points.”

Full story

Panopticon, 19th September 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Prince Charles’s letters to ministers should be disclosed, judges rule – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2012 in disclosure, freedom of information, news, royal family, tribunals by sally

“The government has for the first time been ordered to disclose copies of confidential letters that Prince Charles wrote to ministers.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th September 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Local authorities and NHS Trusts (1): compromise agreements, officers’ identities and gagging clauses – Panopticon

“From a FOIA perspective, local authorities and NHS Trusts have this in common: both frequently receive requests for details of compromise agreements and other details about individual officers’ employment and disciplinary records. Three recent cases before the Tribunal confirm the general trend that – absent case-specific and well-evidenced arguments – the Commissioner and Tribunal re reluctant to order disclosure of such personal data, notwithstanding the context of public sector employees.”

Full story

Panopticon, 17th September 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Related link: Local authorities and NHS Trusts (2): unusual appeals ahead

Royal powers of veto over laws to be made public – The Independent

Posted September 3rd, 2012 in disclosure, freedom of information, news, parliament, royal family, veto by tracey

“Details of secret powers held by senior members of the Royal Family granting veto over Government legislation could me made public after a decision by the Information Commissioner.”

Full story

The Independent, 1st September 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Firms do not always need to delete personal data to comply with data protection rules, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 30th, 2012 in data protection, employment, freedom of information, news by tracey

“Organisations can temporarily keep personal data records even when the information is no longer necessary for processing purposes, the UK’s data protection watchdog has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th August 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

ICO issues guidance on disclosing employee personal data under FOI – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 30th, 2012 in data protection, employment, freedom of information, news by tracey

“Local authorities and other public bodies must ensure that disclosing personal data about their employees under UK freedom of information (FOI) laws is ‘necessary’ even if they have established that it is “fair” to do so, a watchdog has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 29th August 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Consumers could win right to see data held on them – Daily Telegraph

“Supermarkets and internet firms could be forced to release sensitive personal information that they hold about customers, ministers have said.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 22nd August 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Recent Developments in Information Law – 11 KBW

Posted August 21st, 2012 in data protection, EC law, freedom of information, news by sally

“This paper looks at various recent developments in information law, as follows:
• Post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act;
• Handling problem FOI requesters;
• The Protection of Freedoms Act;
• EU proposals for data protection reform; and
• Other recent developments in data protection.”

Full story

11 KBW, 17th August 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com

Privacy watchdog “not ready” to deal with cookie complaints, according to FOI request – OUT-LAW.com

“The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has yet to begin investigating websites accused of breaking the new cookie laws, which came into force last year, because it does not yet have an investigative team in place.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 20th August 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Commercial prejudice: the importance of precise and limited redactions – Panopticon

Posted August 20th, 2012 in appeals, contracts, freedom of information, news, public interest, tribunals by sally

“In the recent decision in UK Coal Mining v IC, Nottinghamshire County Council & Veolia [2012] UKUT 212 AAC, the Upper Tribunal has dismissed an appeal concerned with section 43(2) of FOIA (commercial prejudice): the First-Tier Tribunal (decision EA/2010/0142, on which see our post here) had been entitled to find that only very limited redactions could be made to provisions from a PFI contract for a waste incinerator. Upper Tribunal Judge Wikeley’s decision, while largely fact-specific, illustrates two significant points.”

Full story

Panopticon, 17th August 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

One in five jailed rioters let out of prison early – The Guardian

“Around one in five rioters jailed after last year’s summer rampages have been tagged and let out of prison early.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th August 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The BBC in the Tribunal: not a public authority under the EIR; strong arguments for disclosure of licence fee legal advice – Panopticon

Posted August 20th, 2012 in BBC, disclosure, freedom of information, media, news, public interest by sally

“In Montford v IC and BBC (EA/2009/0114), the appellant had asked the BBC various questions about its expenditure in relation to Cambridge Media and Environment Program, which researched and planned a programme of seminars that had been running since 2005 at which BBC editorial staff discussed issues such as environmental change and world development, with the objective of improving BBC journalism in those areas.”

Full story

Panopticon, 17th August 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Disability hate crime is at its highest level since records began – The Guardian

“There were 1,942 recorded incidents of disability hate crime in England and Wales in 2011, an increase of more than 25% on the total for 2010 and the highest since this data was first recorded in April 2010.”

Full story

The Guardian, 14th August 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Disclosure of copyright-protected information under FOI not a breach of copyright law, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 6th, 2012 in copyright, disclosure, freedom of information, news, ombudsmen by sally

“Public bodies that disclose copyright-protected information in order to comply with a request under freedom of information (FOI) laws are not guilty of copyright infringement, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 3rd August 2012

Source: www.out-law.com