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A Practical Guide to Handling Freedom of Information Requests

A Practical Guide to Handling Freedom of Information Requests


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About the Book

FOI requests submitted to public bodies are rising substantially each year, placing increasing pressure on those responsible for answering them Now that direct action can be taken against public bodies that fail to provide acceptable response times, compliance with the legislation has never been more critical. Ark Group's Practical Guide to Handling Freedom of Information Requests provides comprehensive instructions on your rights and responsibilities in dealing with a variety of FOI requests. It explains current Information Commission (IC) and FOI regulations in context of dealing with FOI requests and provides valuable guidelines on records management and improving media relations. With clear advice, tips and templates, along with easily quotable case law, this report provides real-life examples to simplify the practical application of the law. This report also comes with a complimentary CD ROM including 14 template letters, invaluable when responding to a variety of requests, including: * Acknowledgement of receipt of request for information * Refer applicant to the publication scheme * Information enclosed * Clarification requested * Information not held * Information held by third party, transfer the request * Notification to third party of intention to release information * Fees notice * Subject to a public interest test * Refusal (absolute) * Refusal (subject to PIT) * Vexatious/repeated refusal * Cost exceeds limit refusal * Neither confirm or deny A Practical Guide to Handling Freedom of Information Requests also comes with useful appendices, contacts and resources including: * Public bodies covered by the Freedom of Information Act; * Data sets to be published by public bodies; * Examples of other statutory rights of access; * Examples of public registers; * Training providers and universities; and * An example undertaking by Aberdare Girls School.

Table of Contents:
Executive summary...VII About the author...IX Acknowledgements...XI Part One: Comprehensive guidance on all aspects of freedom of information requests and responses Chapter 1: Background to the Freedom of Information Act 2000...1 What information is covered and which public authorities does it apply to?...1 Transparency and openness - A culture of trust and rights of access...2 Recent developments - The Protection of Freedoms Bill and open data...2 Chapter 2: Other access rights...5 Does the FOIA apply to personal data?...5 Environmental Information Regulations...6 What are the differences between FOI and EIR?...7 Chapter 3: How to handle requests...9 Code of conduct (section 45)...9 FOI or business as usual?...9 Format of the request and response...10 Information held...11 Seeking clarification...12 Chapter 4: Refusing information...13 Getting the refusal right...13 Information not held...13 The information was destroyed...13 Clarification was not received...13 Transferring requests...14 Over the cost limit (section 12)...14 Section 12 - Exceeds the appropriate limit in more detail...15 Vexatious requests (section 14)...17 Section 14 - Vexatious requests in more detail...17 Chapter 5: Absolute exemptions...21 Lines to take...21 Section 21 - Accessible by other means...21 Section 23 - Information supplied by or relating to security bodies...22 Section 32 - Information contained in court records and transcripts...23 Section 34 - Parliamentary privilege...24 Section 40 - Personal information...24 Section 41 - Information provided in confidence...24 Section 44 - Prohibitions on disclosure...25 Chapter 6: Qualified exemptions...27 The public interest test...27 Section 22 - Information intended for future publication...29 Section 24 - The national security exemption...29 Section 26 - Defence...29 Section 27 - International relations...30 Section 28 - Relations within the UK...30 Section 29 - Economy...30 Section 30 - Investigations...30 Section 31 - Law enforcement...32 Section 33 - Public audit...33 Section 35 - Policy formulation, ministerial communications, law officers' advice and the operation of ministerial private office....33 Section 35 - Effective conduct of public affairs ....34 Section 37 Communications with Her Majesty and the awarding of honours ....36 Section 38 - Health and safety...37 Section 39 - Environmental information...38 Section 42 - Legal professional privilege...38 Section 43 - Commercial interest...39 Chapter 7: The Information Commissioner and enforcement...43 The role and powers of the ICO...43 Monitoring...44 Forms of regulatory action...44 Handling complaints from the ICO...45 Decision notices...46 Undertakings...46 Chapter 8: Performance and monitoring...47 FOI statistics...47 ICO targets and watch lists...47 Records management...47 Staff training...48 Chapter 9: Publishing disclosed information and dealing with the media...51 Disclosure logs...51 Proactively publishing information...51 Requests from journalists and the media...51 Social media...52 Chapter 10: Useful resources...53 Case studies and case law...53 Information Tribunal decisions...53 Useful resources and contacts...54 Part Two: Appendices Appendix 1: Public bodies covered by the Freedom of Information Act...59 Appendix 2: Data sets to be published by public bodies...81 Appendix 3: Examples of other statutory rights of access...85 Appendix 4: Examples of public registers...87 Appendix 5: Undertaking by Aberdare Girls School1...89 Appendix 6: Training providers and universities...91 Appendix 7: Definition of a qualified person...93 Appendix 8: The range of laws that prevent FOI disclosures...95 Index...97

About the Author :
Lynn Wyeth is head of information governance at Leicester City Council. Born in York in the UK and originally trained to be a teacher, Lynn's desire to work in a more multicultural environment resulted in a move to Leicester 20 years ago. A love of politics resulted in a Masters degree in European Politics at Leicester University. Having previously worked for a member of European Parliament, a member of the UK Parliament and a county council as a political assistant, Lynn moved to her local council where she currently oversees the council's information governance agenda, including data protection, freedom of information, information sharing and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Lynn is currently completing an Information Rights Masters in Law degree at Northumbria University. She has regularly spoken at national conferences and to PhD students, and has been published in the Ark Group's Freedom of Information for the Public Sector report, edited by Anna Shaw.


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Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781907787959
  • Publisher: Globe Law and Business Ltd
  • Publisher Imprint: Ark Group
  • No of Pages: 127
  • ISBN-10: 190778795X
  • Publisher Date: 31 Oct 2011
  • Binding: Paperback


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