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Opening comments & FOI: The stories so far

Opening comments & FOI: The stories so far. Steve Wood Conference Chair Senior Lecturer in Information Management Liverpool John Moores University Editor of FOIA Blog and Open Government: a journal on freedom of information. FOI and the media: the story so far.

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Opening comments & FOI: The stories so far

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  1. Opening comments &FOI: The stories so far Steve Wood Conference Chair Senior Lecturer in Information Management Liverpool John Moores University Editor of FOIA Blog and Open Government: a journal on freedom of information

  2. FOI and the media: the story so far • The number of FOI stories in UK Press mentioning the word “Freedom of Information Act” • January 2005: 175 • February 2005: 264 • March 2005: 198 • April 2005: 90 • May 2005: 90 • June 2005: 92 • July 2005: 78 • August 2005: 82 • After initial surge of interest - steady usage and reporting in the National media • Data taken from searches using Lexis-Nexus Professional

  3. FOI and the media: the story so far • Which national newspapers are featuring FOI: • Daily Mail: 102 • Daily Star: 10 • Daily Telegraph: 75 • Express: 64 • Guardian: 160 • Independent: 126 • Independent on Sunday: 34 • Mail on Sunday: 32 • Mirror: 55 • News of the World: 22 • Observer: 34 • People: 7 • The Sun: 26 • Sunday Express: 24 • Sunday Mirror : 9 • Sunday Telegraph: 22 • Sunday Times: 109 • The Times: 143 • Data taken from 1st Jan.- 31st Aug. 2005

  4. Five FOI releases of importance • Five releases relating to national government, health, local crime, food safety and land use: • Treasury Flat taxes (featured in FT) • NHS Heart Surgery Data (featured in Guardian) • Reading No 1 area for vehicle crime revealed (featured in Reading Chronicle) • Restaurant inspections (various) • Newark: Prime site went to lowest bidder (featured in Newark Advertiser)

  5. The story so far • Emergent reports and statistics so far in 2005 • Official reports • Parliamentary Ombudsman final report on the Code of Practice • DCA Stats • IC Annual report • Commercial research • Idox • APR Smartlogik • Practitioner research • UCL Constitution Unit

  6. FOI around the world • Nations with new FOI laws: • Germany • India • New FOI era in US • Proposed Cornyn changes to US FOIA • Ireland • Reductions in use linked to increased fees

  7. The shape of things to come • Issues from the requestor perspective • Frustration over delay issues • Inconsistency across sectors • After a slow start increased commercial interest in using the Act as a competitive intelligence tool (see FT 29th Aug. 2005) • Pressure to add further bodies with public functions • More coherent testing of FOI performance by the media and academics: proposed UK Sunshine week, FOIA audits • Issues from the FOI Practitioner perspective • Emerging case law from decisions notices • First tribunals? • DCA fees consultation • Establishing information rights as a profession • Managing Complex cross department and authority requests • Improvements to publication schemes and review • Emergence of disclosure logs

  8. Websites and contact details • Freedom of Information Act Blog • Updated daily • News, views, comment and discussion • Monthly newsletter • www.foia.org.uk • Open Government: a journal on freedom of information • Peer reviewed research and commentary on FOI worldwide • Free and run under open access principles • www.opengovjournal.org • Contact • s.wood@ ljmu.ac.uk

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