freedom of information – Page 5 – Current Awareness

Security bodies and legal advice: some Upper Tribunal droning – Panopticon

Posted January 19th, 2018 in aircraft, disclosure, freedom of information, news, weapons by tracey

‘The Times’ Lawyer of the Week this morning discusses an Upper Tribunal FOIA appeal brought by Rights Watch UK (for whom Daniel Carey, the Lawyer of the Week, acted pro bono), seeking disclosure of the Attorney General’s advice on drone strikes in Syria. The case was Corderoy & Ahmed v IC, AGO, Cabinet Office [2017] UKUT 495 (AAC). Whether you consider it a win, a loss or a draw (and if so for whom) will depend on which side you’re on here and, as counsel on all sides were colleagues at 11KBW, I will attempt a studied neutrality. I confess I have not found all aspects of the judgment easy to follow, but here you go.’

Panopticon, 18th January 2018

Source: panopticonblog.com

ICO backs refusal of council to supply legal opinion over certificate of lawfulness – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 8th, 2018 in disclosure, freedom of information, local government, news by sally

‘The Information Commissioner last month upheld a decision by a London borough to refuse to supply a copy of a legal opinion obtained by the council relating to an application to grant a certificate of lawfulness for a property.’

Local Government Lawyer, 5th January 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Tribunal rules against total secrecy over UK drone strikes – The Guardian

Posted January 4th, 2018 in aircraft, disclosure, freedom of information, intelligence services, news, public interest, tribunals by sally

‘The government’s power to block requests for information on national security grounds has been significantly curtailed by a tribunal ruling over targeted killings of British jihadists abroad.’

The Guardian, 4th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Robert Craig: The Fall-out from Evans: Positioning Roszkowski and Privacy International in a Post-Evans Constitutional Landscape (Part 1) – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted December 8th, 2017 in bail, civil servants, deportation, freedom of information, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

‘Two recent Court of Appeal decisions raise some interesting constitutional questions about the status of Tribunals in the UK legal system. This post (in two parts) seeks to explore some of the implications and suggests that a key constitutional principle, the separation of powers, has once again been neglected. The two cases are Roszkowski v Secretary State for the Home Department (‘Roszkowski’) and R (Privacy International) v Investigatory Powers Tribunal (‘Privacy International’). Privacy International has received considerably more coverage than Roszkowski and is rumoured to be on the way to the Supreme Court. It has already been addressed on this blog by Thomas Fairclough and elsewhere by Mark Elliott. Roszkowski explores the implications of an important and controversial Supreme Court case, R (Evans) v Attorney General (‘Evans’) and contains some critical comment on the reasoning of Lord Neuberger in that case.’

UK Constitutional Law Association, 8th December 2017

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Elite prison squad deployed to jails 580 times last year – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2017 in freedom of information, Ministry of Justice, news, prison officers, prisons, statistics by sally

‘An elite group of specially trained prison officers had to be deployed to jails in England and Wales 580 times last year, figures show.’

The Guardian, 6th December 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

’Irrelevant’ criminal record checks harm ex-offenders’ job hopes – The Guardian

Posted November 27th, 2017 in criminal records, disclosure, employment, freedom of information, news, rehabilitation, statistics by sally

‘The criminal records system is hampering the rehabilitation of ex-offenders, according to new figures. Nearly three quarters of the million or so convictions revealed to employers each year in criminal records checks are more than a decade old. Only around 5,000 – one in 197 – are considered relevant to a person’s job application.’

The Guardian, 25th November 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

NHS pays out record compensation to cancer patients – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 27th, 2017 in cancer, compensation, damages, freedom of information, health, negligence, news by sally

‘The number of cancer patients successfully suing the NHS for missed diagnoses has doubled in the past five years, new figures show.’

Daily Telegraph, 26th November 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Serious Fraud Office zeros in on large-scale fraud as prosecutions for other offences fall – The Independent

Posted November 6th, 2017 in compensation, fraud, freedom of information, law firms, Ministry of Justice, news, prosecutions, Serious Fraud Office, statistics by tracey

‘As the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) increasingly focuses on large-scale frauds, the overall number of fraud prosecutions in the UK is falling, new figures show.’

The Independent, 5th November 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Rogue landlords enjoy an easy ride as councils fail to prosecute – The Guardian

Posted October 30th, 2017 in budgets, enforcement, freedom of information, housing, landlord & tenant, licensing, local government, news, prosecutions, statistics by sally

‘Councils across Britain have been accused of letting rogue landlords off the hook, after new figures revealed that most have failed to secure a single prosecution.’

The Guardian, 28th October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Suspicious transaction reports to FCA soar to record high – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 24th, 2017 in banking, disclosure, EC law, financial regulation, freedom of information, insurance, news, regulations by sally

‘The number of reports notifying the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of suspicious transactions have risen to their highest ever level, more than doubling in the last two years.’

OUT-LAW.com, 23rd October 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

One in five stopped by immigration enforcement is a UK citizen, figures show – The Guardian

Posted October 9th, 2017 in enforcement, freedom of information, government departments, immigration, news, race discrimination, statistics by sally

‘One in five people stopped by immigration enforcement teams in Britain’s biggest cities is a UK national, according to newly revealed figures that critics say cast doubt on official claims that such stops are “intelligence-led”.’

The Guardian, 8th October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Number of child-on-child sexual assaults almost doubles – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 9th, 2017 in children, freedom of information, internet, news, pornography, sexual offences, statistics by sally

‘Reports of children sexually assaulting each other have almost doubled in the last four years, figures show as experts blame the rise in the availability of online pornography.’

Daily Telegraph, 9th October 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Up to a quarter of secondary schools break the law by failing to teach religious education, survey finds – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 18th, 2017 in education, freedom of information, news, statistics by tracey

‘Up to a quarter of secondary schools are breaking the law by failing to teach religious education, a new survey has shown, as one expert said the subject can be seen as an “easy loss” amid financial pressure.’

Daily Telegraph, 17th September 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Police ‘may work with paedophile hunters’ – BBC News

Posted September 18th, 2017 in child abuse, evidence, freedom of information, internet, news, police, sexual grooming, statistics by tracey

‘Police have admitted they may have to work with “paedophile hunters” after research revealed a rise in their evidence being used in court. Figures obtained by the BBC show 11% of court cases in 2014 for the crime of meeting a child following sexual grooming used vigilante evidence, rising to 44% in 2016.’

BBC News, 18th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Can police forces publish misconduct investigation reports? Should they? – UK Police Law Blog

Posted September 12th, 2017 in disclosure, freedom of information, misfeasance in public office, news, police, publishing, reports by tracey

‘Publication of misconduct investigation reports can give rise to difficult and important questions, particularly in cases where there has been no misconduct hearing because there has been a determination of “no case to answer”, or because the accused officer has resigned or retired.’

UK Police Law Blog, 11th September 2017

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Use of cloud-based communications raises challenges over compliance with FOI laws, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 4th, 2017 in disclosure, documents, freedom of information, news, statutory duty, telecommunications by sally

‘The use of cloud-based communications tools by employees of public sector bodies presents challenges over the way those organisations comply with freedom of information (FOI) laws in the UK, the information commissioner has said.’

OUT-LAW.com, September 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

DVLA bans over 300 potentially offensive licence plates – BBC News

Posted August 25th, 2017 in Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency, freedom of information, news by sally

‘More than 300 vehicle licence plates have been banned from use when the 67 registrations are released on 1 September.’

BBC News, 25th August 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Wages of Sin is: the Ability to Rely on Section 12 – Panopticon

Posted August 25th, 2017 in costs, freedom of information, news, statutory duty, statutory interpretation by sally

‘What happens when your FOIA request to a public authority is met with the response that it would breach the cost limits set under section 12 to respond to the request because the authority’s record keeping systems are in a particular (i.e. poor) state? In a word: tough.’

Panopticon, 24th August 2017

Source: panopticonblog.com

Four fold increase in fines under ‘busybody charter’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 31st, 2017 in fines, freedom of expression, freedom of information, local government, news, public order by sally

‘A four-fold increase in the number of fines issued under the “busybody charter” has been described as “utterly alarming”, with councils cracking down on activities such as feeding birds, walking dogs and playing loud bhangra music.’

Daily Telegraph, 31st July 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

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