tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27756236798715082752024-03-19T03:51:37.809+00:00confirm or denyblog has moved to confirmordeny.org.ukconfirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-53455096693678965852010-07-06T21:16:00.002+01:002010-07-06T21:16:27.412+01:00this blog has movedPlease see <b><a href="http://www.confirmordeny.org.uk">http://www.confirmordeny.org.uk</a></b>.confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-38598566336154547932010-06-17T22:07:00.003+01:002010-06-17T22:18:23.311+01:00One Man's View of One SocietyI have been getting a lot of tweets from <a href="https://twitter.com/One_Society">@One_Society</a> and in the main I agree with what they are trying to achieve - a more equal society. I have however expressed some reservations about the idea of fixed pay ratio that would for example limit the maximum pay to 10 times the London Living Wage. I have now started getting replies defending this policy. I won't be replying in Twitter some arguments can't be properly made in 140 characters so I reply here.<br />
<br />
<ol><li>I support the minimum wage and I think it should be raised. The minimum wage stops exploitation an recognises the dignity of human labour. We don't need a maximum wage in order to stop exploitation. </li>
<li>The factor of ten seems to have been plucked out of thin air - why not say the highest paid should not earn more than five times the lowest? or perhaps twenty times? If there is a case for ten no-one has made it yet. </li>
<li>If such a rule was brought in lots of people would find ways around it e.g. an office could outsource its cleaning to an agency then make the cleaners who use to have a full time job redundant then the cleaners would not be employees and would not count in the ratio. </li>
<li> You could try to avoid this by saying that every agent, every service provider and every supplier was included in the ratio but collecting the data would be a nightmare and what could be done about foreign suppliers?</li>
<li>Cutting the salaries for the highest paid employees may well reduce the total wage bill meaning the owners of the business make even more profit - in many cases the owners will be far richer than the employees so the proposal may not narrow the gap between rich and poor.</li>
<li> aspiration should not be limited</li>
<li>The super rich don't get their money from salaries many of them don't need to work. A lot of their money comes from inheritance, rents on land and property and returns on investments. </li>
</ol><br />
<b>Finally,</b> we have already invented a fair and practical way to increase equality without limiting aspiration it is called progressive taxation and we should use it more. One Society should in my opinion spend its time campaigning against the VAT rise (rich and poor alike pay VAT at same rate) and for increases in taxes on inherited wealth and large land owners. One Society should also be pushing the Government hard on measures to reduce tax evasion.<br />
<br />
All that said I commend One Society for caring about these issues and for getting more people (me included) involved in this debate.confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-10888722556382423862010-06-06T18:16:00.000+01:002010-06-06T18:16:27.504+01:00Email to ICO re House of Commons CommissionDear Sirs<br />
I am writing to complain about the House of Commons Commission's failure to answer my request for environmental information:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/environmental_information_in_min" target="_blank">http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/<wbr></wbr>request/environmental_<wbr></wbr>information_in_min</a><br />
<br />
The House of Commons Commission have stated that:<br />
<br />
"For the avoidance of doubt the House of Commons Commission is not a public authority within the meaning of the Environmental Information regulations."<br />
<br />
I believe the House of Commons Commission is a public authority by virtue of regulation 2(2)(c) ("<span>any other body or other person, that carries out functions of public administration").</span> I note the following facts in support of my argument:<br />
<br />
(1) "The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons Administration."<br />
<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/offices/commons/house-of-commons-commission/" target="_blank">http://www.parliament.uk/mps-<wbr></wbr>lords-and-offices/offices/<wbr></wbr>commons/house-of-commons-<wbr></wbr>commission/</a><br />
<br />
(2) The House of Commons is part of the United Kingdom legislature and is itself a public body which is publicly funded.<br />
<br />
(3) "Its [the House of Commons Commission's] responsibilities include: <br />
<ul><li> appointing staff of the House</li>
<li> preparing and laying before the House the Estimates for the House of Commons Service</li>
<li> allocating functions to House departments</li>
<li> keeping staff pay and conditions broadly in line with those of the Civil Service.</li>
</ul>The Commission was established by the <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm197879/cmacts/036/19780036.htm" target="_blank">House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978</a>."<br />
<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/offices/commons/house-of-commons-commission/" target="_blank">http://www.parliament.uk/mps-<wbr></wbr>lords-and-offices/offices/<wbr></wbr>commons/house-of-commons-<wbr></wbr>commission/</a><br />
<br />
(4) I consider the House of Commons Commission's functions to be public because they relate the pay and conditions of public officials and the work of publicly funded House departments in support of a key part of UK legislature.<br />
<br />
(5) I consider the House of Commons Commission's functions to be administrative because of its supervisory role in relation to the House of Commons Administration and its appointment of public officials but also because the House of Commons Commission was established by the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 ["An Act to make further provision for the administration of the House of Commons."]<br />
<br />
I believe I have presented a concise, referenced and persuasive argument in my email above and therefore I urge to issue a Decision Notice which makes clear that the House of Commons Commission is a public authority and as such must comply with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.<br />
<br />
regards,<br />
<br />
...confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-71669608556033919162010-06-05T18:37:00.007+01:002010-06-06T14:34:08.250+01:00ACAS now claim not to be subject to FOIFrom the archives we can see that on 12 November 2008 the ACAS website included <a href="http://tna.europarchive.org/20081112122150/http://acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1474">the ACAS Publication Scheme</a> this document stated that:<br />
<br />
"The Acas publication scheme is drawn up under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (opens in a new window)."<br />
<br />
Section 19 of the Act states that "<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP2Text">It shall be the duty of every public authority </span><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text">to adopt and maintain a scheme" - it would appear that ACAS considered itself to be a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 at the time the publication scheme was published (especially given the reference to Section 19 of the Act).</span><br />
<br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text">In <a href="http://tna.europarchive.org/20081112122150/http://acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1473%3C/font%3E"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text">November 2008 the ACAS website</span></a><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"> also included the following: "</span>If you would like to request information from Acas under the Freedom of Information Act, write to us at:"<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"> </span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text">As late as February 2010 ACAS <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/requests_from_royal_mail_group_l#incoming-72745">advised a requester of his right to Appeal to the Information Commissioner</a>. </span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text">It appears that by 29 March 2010 they changed their mind:</span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><i><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text">"</span>On a strict reading of the provisions of the FoIA, Acas is not a 'public authority' and as a consequence any information which Acas holds is not susceptible to FoIA disclosure. However, as a mainly publicly funded body, Acas seeks generally to act as if it were subject to the FoIA and to comply with obligations on public authorities subject to the Act, as long as to do so would not breach any reasonable expectations of confidentiality individuals and organisations with whom Acas deals in its dispute resolution and other work might have, or where the release of information would be prejudicial to the conduct of public affairs, or where it was obtained in confidence."</i></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/30528/response/83433/attach/html/2/04%2028%2010%20Freedom%20of%20information%20response%202%20D%20SMITH.DOC.doc.html">response 29 March 2010</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text">This is especially confusing as the Information Commissioner has issued a decision notice (</span></span><a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/decisionnotices/2008/fs_50086170.pdf" target="_blank" title="Link opens in new window">FS50086170</a><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text">) in which a complaint against ACAS was upheld - the Commissioner has no power to issue decision notices against bodies not subject to the Act. Further more the ICO specifically considered whether or nor ACAS is a public authority in this decision notice:</span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><i>"Given the uncertainty as to whether or not ACAS was in fact covered by the Act, the Commissioner made an enquiry of the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA, now the Ministry of Justice (MOJ)).Having consulted with the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), DCA confirmed in an email to the Commissioner that ACAS was covered by the Act by virtue of its relationship with the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)).The Commissioner subsequently confirmed this in writing to ACAS on 19 January 2007."</i></span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"> </span></span><br />
<span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"><span class="LegDS LegRHS LegP3Text"> </span></span>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-27539177883352327342010-05-29T17:57:00.003+01:002010-05-30T11:12:13.450+01:00UK's Freedom of Information Officers are invited to join closed regional groups<b>"We can now operate regional closed user groups. These are local groups where people contribute with regard to local matters. You will not see a group unless you are a member of one. The main benefits include confidentiality, NAIM is not subject to FOI, a reduction in inbox content, an archive of issues etc etc."</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>"</b>If you are not a member then click the join us link on the left. Registration is always easier when using a business e-mail address and public service addresses such as .gov.uk, .ac.uk, .nhs etc. Where personal e-mail addresses are provided we will usually require confirmation of your reasons for joining. Acceptable categories do not include casual interest or non related information management functions."<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.naim.uk.net/%20">http://www.naim.uk.net/ </a></b><br />
<br />
[NAIM stands for National Association for Information Management]<br />
<br />
It is clear they are targeting public sector workers who are also 'information managers'.<br />
<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b></b>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-11964126928181707062010-05-22T10:15:00.009+01:002010-05-22T11:00:05.626+01:00Lord McNally on Freedom of Information"My Lords, does not the Minister feel thoroughly ashamed that a Government who came to power committed to freedom of information and ending the culture of secrecy in Whitehall cannot even provide a list of the times and dates when the Prime Minister saw the most powerful media magnate in the world?"<br />
<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2005-12-09c.925.0">Theyworkforyou</a><br />
<br />
"My Lords, does the Minister agree that a fee structure that charged exorbitant fees for freedom of information would in fact be the freedom to dine at the Ritz?"<br />
<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2004-06-07a.4.6">Theyworkforyou</a><br />
<br />
"I have the pleasure of moving this amendment on behalf of my noble friends Lord Goodhart and Lord Lester. It would replace the unlimited period for disclosing information in the public interest with a 20-day limit. We strongly believe in the amendment."<br />
<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2000-10-17a.1000.1">Theyworkforyou</a><br />
<br />
"perhaps it is something that the CBI and the private sector will have to take on board--that doing business with the public sector, which for many companies is very profitable indeed and very attractive, carries with it certain freedom of information responsibilities."<br />
<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2000-10-17a.988.2">Theyworkforyou</a><br />
<br />
"the crux of debate today is on Clause 34 of the Bill, "Prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs". Where we part from the Government is that they still believe that the effective conduct of public affairs requires too much secrecy. We believe that effective conduct of public affairs comes from accountability and transparency. Ministers may deny it; but a profound change has taken place in the Government's attitude to freedom of information since taking office."<br />
<br />
"There was a good example of that last weekend when it was reported that an apparent tiff between Sir Anthony Eden and Churchill about the timing of Churchill's retirement had been kept secret for 50 years. It seems extraordinary that that should be so. A number of the embargos on the workings of government, the security services and royalty belong to a different age."<br />
<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2008-02-05b.1017.0">Theyworkforyou</a><br />
<br />
<hr/><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2009-06-10a.638.4&s=%22freedom+of+information%22+speaker%3A13129#g645.0">another from: Theyworkforyou</a>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-87516440673309562552010-05-07T10:24:00.004+01:002010-05-07T10:52:50.226+01:00Freedom of Information in a hung parliamentOK, so the economy is the big issue in this election and FOI isn't and probably never will be but it does matter as FOI can arm the public information about public services, public spending and decision making. <br />
<br />
Right now the full result of the election are not known but we do know that no one party has an overall majority. I am optimistic about the opportunities that a hung parliament presents for achieving better FOI laws an greater transparency.<br />
<br />
<strong>Minority Government means majority non-government</strong><br />
In general Governments have more to lose from increased transparency and opposition parties have more to gain. A minority Government might struggle to resist changes to the law to increase transparency if a number of other parties supported the changes.<br />
<br />
<strong>Transparency as part of a deal</strong><br />
A party such as the Liberal Democrats could insist on changes to the law to increase transparency as a part of a much larger deal. This of course assumes that agreement can be reached on the major issues such as the economy and health. The Liberal Democrats would like to see the 'ministerial veto' scrapped.<br />
<br />
On individual bills before Parliament we could see amendments to build in transparency e.g. bills which create new public bodies could be amended to make the newly created bodies subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.<br />
<br />
<strong>Conservatives as the single largest party</strong><br />
<br />
The Conservative support a number of improvements to Freedom of Information for example they favour the publication of the COINS database.<br />
<br />
"A Conservative government will increase the range of publically funded bodies that are<br />
subject to scrutiny using Section 5 orders under the Freedom of Information Act. ... We will extend the Freedom of Information Act to these organisations within weeks of the General Election."<br />
<br />
The organisations that the Conservatives would like to make subject to FOI include Network Rail, Northern Rock,The Carbon Trust, The Energy Saving Trust, the NHS Confederation (in relation to activities in receipt of public funds), the Local Government Association and<br />
Traffic Penalty Tribunals. (<a href="http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2010/04/~/media/Files/Downloadable%20Files/Big%20ideas%20to%20give%20Britain%20Real%20change.ashx">Big Ideas for real change in politics</a>)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.addtofoi.co.uk">Addtofoi</a> has been campaigning for these bodies and many others to be made subject to FOI for some time and will continue to do so.confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-83926976416539476462010-04-20T20:22:00.001+01:002010-05-07T10:04:50.381+01:00UKIP tell me their policy on Freedom of InformationRecently CFOI compared the position of the three main parties on Freedom of Information based on there manifestoes.<br />
<br />
I wanted to find out about some of the other parties' policies, UKIP have replied today:<br />
<br />
"...Thank you for your email, which has been passed on to me as a member of the UKIP policy team.<br />
<br />
<b>UKIP supports the right for the British people to find out more from government about how decisions are made, information the government keeps on government business and where the government spends our money. The Freedom of Information Act is an invaluable tool to empower the British people.</b><br />
<br />
Best wishes, ..."confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-19818396515453629972010-04-15T00:35:00.006+01:002010-04-15T20:06:43.430+01:00UK Parliament Exploits Dissolution to Delay FOI Responses<b>MY EMAIL TO ICO</b><br />
<br />
Dear ICO<br />
I am writing to complain about the general approach taken by public<br />
officials to those requests addressed to the House of Commons and the<br />
House of Lords to:<br />
<br />
(a) requests received prior to dissolution but not yet answered; and<br />
(b) requests received during dissolution.<br />
<br />
I am also complaining specifically about the approach taken to a<br />
request I made myself. [6]<br />
<br />
I fully accept that Parliament has been dissolved however there are a<br />
number of other factors the Information Commissioner should consider<br />
in dealing with this complaint. I am sure you will appreciate that<br />
a general election is a time of increased awareness of politics and<br />
that it is very damaging for democracy if questionable technicalities<br />
are used to avoid disclosing information to the public.<br />
<br />
The standard response being used by officials is [1][2][6]:<br />
<br />
"When Parliament has been dissolved there is no ‘House of Commons[or<br />
Lords]’ for the purposes of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act, and<br />
there is therefore no ‘public authority’ to which the 20 day deadline<br />
under section 10 of the 2000 Act is capable of applying. The time<br />
limits do not, therefore, apply during the period of Dissolution.<br />
<br />
The effect of the 2000 Act, including its time limits, resumes when<br />
the new House of Commons/Lords first meets. "<br />
<br />
(1) Under Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ('the<br />
Act') public authorities must reply to requests "promptly". If the<br />
House of Commons considered that it would cease to be a public<br />
authority on dissolution it ought to have interpreted the word<br />
"promptly" in that context. This would mean applying significant<br />
additional resources to ensuring as many requests as possible were<br />
dealt with prior to dissolution. I have not seen any evidence of<br />
this.<br />
<br />
(2) Requests for information that could include environmental<br />
information [e.g. requests for copies of internal newsletters] should<br />
of course be considered with reference to the Environmental<br />
Information Regulations 2004 ("EIR"). EIR would apply to the House of<br />
Commons Commission which exists even during the period of<br />
dissolution[3]. EIR would also apply to the the Corporate Officer of<br />
the House of Commons and the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords<br />
(corporations with perpetual succession established by the<br />
Parliamentary Corporate Bodies Act 1992. Requests received by<br />
officials during dissolution cannot be received by those officials in<br />
their capacity as agents of a public authority that does not exist so<br />
arguably the requests for information are requests received by one of<br />
the corporate bodies which continue to exist during dissolution.<br />
<br />
(3) UK law includes explicit time extensions for schools recognising<br />
the difficult of responding during school holidays legislators would<br />
have made explicit provision for a time extension during the<br />
dissolution period had this been their intention.<br />
<br />
(4) The Freedom of Information Act 2000 was clearly intended to<br />
provide a general and uninterrupted right of access to documents held<br />
by public officials and public bodies an section 3(2)(b) of the Act<br />
states that a public authority is deemed to hold information if the<br />
information "is held by another person on behalf of the authority."<br />
This adds further weight to the argument that Parliament's records and<br />
documents should remain accessible regardless of which legal body has<br />
control of them at any given time.<br />
<br />
(5) According to the dissolution guidance published on the Parliament<br />
website: "The House of Commons Information Office's services for the<br />
public will operate as usual. [during the dissolution period]" [4]<br />
This statement seems at odds with what is actually happening.<br />
<br />
(6) Section 77 of the Act is clearly intended to prevent public<br />
officials from destroying records to avoid disclosure under the Act.<br />
[5] If the House of Commons really ceases to exist as a public<br />
authority during the dissolution period for the purposes of the Act<br />
then officials would be able to destroy records "with the intention of<br />
preventing the disclosure" without committing a offence under that<br />
section. It seems very unlikely that this would be what the<br />
legislators intended.<br />
<br />
(7) (a) According to the Parliament website: "Members of the House of<br />
Lords are appointed - not elected - so during dissolution they remain<br />
Members." this suggests that perhaps the House of Lords does exist<br />
during dissolution.[8]<br />
<br />
(7) (b) According to the Parliament website: "When Parliament is<br />
dissolved every seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant." this<br />
suggests that perhaps the House of Commons does exist in some form<br />
after dissolution as it refers to the seats being vacate rather than<br />
the seats ceasing to exist but this may just be a poor choice of<br />
wording.[8]<br />
<br />
(8) My person view is that the best way to interpret the law is that<br />
the officials of the Palace of Westminster are required to continue to<br />
respond to requests under the Act during the period of dissolution.<br />
<br />
(9) Even if the ICO has no legal powers to intervene in this matter<br />
please can you at least write to the relevant officials and remind<br />
them of "The Seven Principles of Public Life" in particular:<br />
<br />
"Accountability<br />
Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and<br />
actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny<br />
is appropriate to their office." [7]<br />
<br />
and<br />
<br />
"Openness<br />
Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the<br />
decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for<br />
their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public<br />
interest clearly demands." [7]<br />
<br />
Notes appear at the foot of this email. Thank you for your time and<br />
consideration in this matter<br />
<br />
John<br />
<br />
----------------------<br />
<br />
John Cross<br />
<br />
[1] <a href="http://www.mysociety.org/2010/04/13/parliament-foi-delay-dissolved/">http://www.mysociety.org/2010/04/13/parliament-foi-delay-dissolved/</a><br />
[2] <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/newsletters#incoming-79897">http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/newsletters#incoming-79897</a><br />
[3] "On a dissolution of Parliament the person who is then Mr. Speaker<br />
shall continue in office as a member of the Commission until a Speaker<br />
is chosen by the new Parliament." Schedule 1 3(1) of the House of<br />
Commons (Administration) Act 1978<br />
[4]<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/dissolutionarrangements.pdf">http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/dissolutionarrangements.pdf</a><br />
[5] "any person to whom this subsection applies is guilty of an<br />
offence if he alters, defaces, blocks, erases, destroys or conceals<br />
any record held by the public authority, with the intention of<br />
preventing the disclosure by that authority of all, or any part, of<br />
the information to the communication of which the applicant would have<br />
been entitled." Section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000<br />
[6] A request I made - <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/crowned_portcullis">http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/crowned_portcullis</a><br />
[7] <a href="http://www.public-standards.gov.uk/About/The_7_Principles.html">http://www.public-standards.gov.uk/About/The_7_Principles.html</a><br />
[8] <a href="http://news.parliament.uk/2010/04/dissolution-of-parliament-12-april-2010/">http://news.parliament.uk/2010/04/dissolution-of-parliament-12-april-2010/</a><br />
<br />
--<br />
John Crossconfirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-4996357681672176412010-03-06T14:52:00.001+00:002010-03-06T14:58:34.674+00:00Government Wine costs up to £132 per bottleIf you have ever wondered about the Government Wine Cellars, you should probably read this <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/26685/response/73971/attach/html/3/Final%20reply%20to%20J%20Cross%20FOI%200030%2010%205%2003%2010.doc.pdf.html">response to an FOI request</a>:<br />
<br />
<br />
"The five most expensive wines currently in stock in the Government Hospitality cellar are: <br />
Château Lafite 1998 <br />
Château Cheval Blanc 1996 <br />
Château Haut-Brion 1996 <br />
Château Trotanoy 1998 <br />
and Vieux Château Certan 2005."<br />
<br />
"the wines listed ranged in cost from £78.00 per bottle to £132.00 per bottle."<br />
<br />
"The five most expensive wines purchased for the cellar during 2009 were: <br />
<br />
Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2006 <br />
Château Lynch-Bages 2005 <br />
Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 2005 <br />
Château Léoville-Barton 2005 <br />
and Vieux Château Certan 2005"<br />
<br />
"the wines listed ranged in cost from £57.00 per bottle to £132.00 per bottle."<br />
<br />
It would appear that the "Vieux Château Certan 2005" is the most expensive as it appears on both lists so it is probably £132 per bottle.<br />
<br />
I found a <a href="http://www.bordeauxindex.com/wine.php?item=VIEU05B"> website selling 8 bottles for £1,050</a> which works out at £131.25 each.confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-33815190210636389012010-02-21T11:37:00.000+00:002010-02-21T11:37:13.072+00:00Mail article about Prince Andrew and Kazach Tycoon<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250952/Andrews-3m-bonus-secret-deal-Kazakh-tycoon-bought-12m-house.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250952/Andrews-3m-bonus-secret-deal-Kazakh-tycoon-bought-12m-house.html</a>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-10211411310953326822010-02-07T10:19:00.005+00:002010-02-07T10:38:58.663+00:00Copper content of a 2p coin"I am the head of Chemistry in a Scottish Secondary school. One of my senior pupils is investigating methods of determining copper and iron in 2p coins."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/copper_content_in_a_2p_coin#incoming-20865">http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/copper_content_in_a_2p_coin#incoming-20865</a><br /><br />The answer supplied ten days later was 7% Copper and 93% mild steel (with tolerances also disclosed).<br /><br />This is a really good simple example of the benefit to the public from Freedom of Information laws in general and WhatDoTheyKnow.com in particular.<br /><br />I have incorporated the Royal Mint's response into this Wikipedia article:<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_pence_(British_decimal_coin)">Two pence (British decimal coin)</a>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-20540328941260643042010-02-04T12:02:00.018+00:002010-02-13T18:06:21.864+00:00How many public bodies are there in the UK?Recently, a WhatDoTheyKnow.com volunteer was answering a query from a user of the site and was surprised to learn that the site already had the <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/deer_commission_for_scotland">Deer Commission for Scotland</a> listed. It was noted that Whatdotheyknow.com has quite a lot of public bodies as of 12:30pm today there are 3,303 public authorities sites on the site although 74 of these authorities are now marked as <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/list/defunct">defunct</a>. You might also want to exclude the 27 Water Companies, although these are 'public authorities' for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations. That still leaves about 3,200 active public authorities. So the next question for me is: how many public bodies are there in the UK?<br />The answer is no-one knows.<br /><br />"We discovered early on that there are no precise figures for the very large number of people who are appointed to this great variety of public bodies and positions, nor even for how many public bodies exist."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmpubadm/165/16504.htm">Select Committee on Public Administration Fourth Report (2003)<br /></a><br /><br />So if no-one has a complete list how does Whatdotheyknow.com's list of about 3,200 compare to other lists and directories - who has the most comprehensive list?<br /><br />The Cabinet Office's best effort is probably <a href="http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/public-bodies.aspx">Public Bodies 2008 </a> which puts the number of non-department at 790 (sometimes called Quangos). Added to that there are around 24 Government Departments listed bring the total to 814. These numbers exclude schools, colleges, universities, local government, the police, the NHS, and devolved government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in other words this list of public bodies excludes more than it includes. The Tax Payers' Alliance <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8135734.stm">put the number of Quangos at 1,162</a>.<br /><br />What is almost unique about Whatdotheyknow.com's list of public authorities is that it covers the whole lot (central, regional and local government, Parliament, the NHS, the Police, educational institutions, housing associations, publicly owned companies etc)<br /><br />I say almost unique because buried in a dark corner of the Office for National Statistics website that is actually quite useful, it is called <a href="http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/MA23.xls">MA23</a> or to give it its full name the Sector Classification Guide. In order to prepare 'National Accounts' for Europe the Government has to have some kind of list of public sector bodies and MA23 contains that list.<br /><br />The classification is not decided based on the political considerations of the current government but on internationally agreed definitions e.g. <a href="http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/nfaccount/info/data/ESA95/en/een00081.htm">central government s1311</a>, <a href="http://circa.europa.eu/irc/dsis/nfaccount/info/data/esa95/en/een00071.htm">Public non-financial corporations</a> and for this reason is more comprehensive than all the other lists the Government publishes.<br /><br />MA23 lists the following rows:<br /><br /><ul><li>1,018 central government bodies</li><li>42 central government funds</li><li>3 central banks</li><li>369 public corporations</li><li>5 public insurance corporations and pension funds</li><li>377 local government bodies</li><li>3 local government funds</li></ul>I make that about 1,800 in total but many of the rows are not for a single named public authority but for a whole class of public authorities. MA23 certainly does not contain a more comprehensive lists of public authorities than Whatdotheyknow.com but is very useful and includes some less well known bodies such as:<br /><br /><ul><li>Dorneywood Trust</li><li>Eblex Limited</li><li>Jebwill</li><li>Orford Town Trustees</li><li>World Poultry Science Association</li><li>Yorkshire and Humber Regional Aggregation Body</li><br /></ul><br /><br />The COINS database is less comprehensive and perhaps more influenced by UK politics but it does contain over 1,700 public authorities.confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-52280410213525663782010-01-30T12:02:00.002+00:002010-01-30T12:05:58.059+00:00Parliamentary Topics pageEDM 589 is included on Parliament's topical issues webpages:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.parliament.uk/topics/Freedom-of-information.htm">Freedom of Information topic</a><br /><br /><br />Please write to your MP and ask them to sign if they have not already done so:<br /><br /><small>That this House notes that section 6 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, with certain exceptions, makes companies wholly owned by the Crown or by a single public authority subject to the Act; further notes that a company wholly owned by two or more public authorities or 95 per cent. owned by a single public authority will be outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and calls for the closure of this loophole and for companies owned 90 per cent. or more by any number of public authorities to be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.</small>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-79171549342441583272010-01-28T22:02:00.002+00:002010-01-28T23:10:44.865+00:00article in Lib Dem Voicemy article <a href="http://www.libdemvoice.org/freedom-of-information-loophole-17712.html">Freedom of Information loophole - article in Liberal Democrat Voice</a><br /><br />see also CFOI: <a href="http://foia.blogspot.com/2010/01/edm-589-foi-and-companies-owned-by-two.html">http://foia.blogspot.com/2010/01/edm-589-foi-and-companies-owned-by-two.html</a>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-30849680006635106062010-01-25T13:03:00.001+00:002010-01-25T13:07:32.551+00:00Police force saves time thanks to WhatDoTheyKnowCheshire Police avoid having to provide the same information again in response to an FOI request by linking to WhatDoTheyKnow.com. Following this approach public authorities only need to provide information once through whatdotheyknow.com.<br /><br />"This information is already reasonably accessible to you by other means and is therefore exempt information in accordance with Section 21 of the Act.<br /><br />Please see previous disclosures on the same subject which appear both on our disclosure log;<br /><br />Injury Pension Awarded Previous Disclosure<br /><br />Police Injury Award Pensions Previous Disclosure<br /><br />and on the web site What do they know website under Cheshire Constabulary:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/cheshire_constabulary">Whatdotheyknow Cheshire Constabulary</a>"confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-35024756224242489002010-01-24T15:53:00.001+00:002010-01-24T15:55:34.589+00:00Ministers will go to court to avoid disclosing state spending on Royal Family"Ministers are to go to court to try to stop The Independent from seeing secret correspondence which could shed light on how public money has been spent on the Royal Family."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ministers-use-law-to-keep-state-spending-on-royal-family-secret-1876403.html">Indepenent</a>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-16519374615163929992010-01-21T22:09:00.001+00:002010-01-21T22:11:32.564+00:00ICO will rule against the Commons<span style="font-style:italic;">"The decision was that the request is valid for the purposes of the Act and that it is reasonably practicable for the House of Commons to provide you with an electronic copy of the information requested via the ‘what do they know?’ website.<br /><br />A Decision Notice will be drafted shortly to confirm the Commissioner’s view on this matter and to compel the House to disclose the requested information via ‘what do they know?’."</span><br /><br /><a href=" http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/online_petitions_documents_from#comment-8340"><br />http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/online_petitions_documents_from#comment-8340</a>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-7034790440733238352010-01-18T20:45:00.005+00:002010-01-18T21:10:44.111+00:00William cuts the ribbon on a building that will cut royal powerDo not be fooled by the so called pop star welcome for Prince William or reports of <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/152499/Prince-Charming-William-brings-royal-fever-to-New-Zealand-capital">royal fever</a> the building he has opened is a Supreme Court and it means that where previously New Zealanders' final right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, based in London it is now to the Supreme Court in a much more convenient location New Zealand. <br /><br />The Privy Council itself is a symbol of the power of the monarch in making legislation, judicial matters and executive matters.confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-52706854844114753072010-01-14T15:57:00.007+00:002010-01-16T02:58:37.884+00:00EDM 589I asked my MP to propose an EDM on this subject and he now has, please write to your MP and get them to sign as well. <br /><br /><hr/><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">EDM 589<br /> <br />FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND COMPANIES OWNED BY TWO OR MORE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES</span><br /><br />"That this House notes that section 6 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 with certain exceptions makes companies wholly owned by the Crown or by a single public authority subject to the Act; further notes that a company wholly owned by two or more public authorities or 95 per cent. owned by a single public authority will be outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and calls for the closure of this loophole and for companies owned 90 per cent. or more by any number of public authorities to be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000."<br /><br /><ul><br /><li><a href="http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40168&SESSION=903">Text of: EDM 589</a></li><br /><li>Twitter hashtag: <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23edm589">#edm589</a></li><br /><li>Tinyurl: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/edm589">http://tinyurl.com/edm589</a></li><br /></ul><br /><hr/>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-11989913216593875922010-01-05T14:42:00.007+00:002010-01-05T15:19:43.240+00:00The legislative powers of the Duchy of LancasterThe context to this blog post is that I am trying to convince the ICO that the Duchy of Lancaster is a public authority.<br /><br />I have already submitted detailed evidence to the ICO but I have not yet focussed heavily of the legislative powers of the Duchy. This blog post is based on an email I sent to the ICO today.<br /><br />I gave example from the London Gazette:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"The Queen has been pleased to appoint by Letters Patent under the seal of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster Mr. Eric Jones, J.P., as Constable of Lancaster Castle in succession to the late Mr. Michael Fitzherbert-Brockholes, O.B.E., J.P., D.L."</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/55113/notices/1SI/all=seal+%22duchy+of+lancaster%22">London Gazette - Issue Number: 55113 - Notice Code: 1109</a><br /><br />It is clear from the Oxford English Dictionary definition (below) of "letters patent" that these letters are instruments of the monarch or government. The use of the Duchy's Seal demonstrates the fact that these law making powers are derived from Duchy offices. The Chancellor of the Duchy is the keeper of the seal [<a href="http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/58392/notices/301272/all=%22keeper+of+the+seal%22+%22duchy+of+Lancaster%22">1</a>].<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"a. Law. letters patent n. (also in 14th cent. lettre patent) Originally: an open letter or document (see quot. 1891) issued by a monarch or government to record a contract, authorize or command an action, or confer a privilege, right, office, title, or property. In later use esp.: such a document which grants for a set period the sole right to make, use, or sell some process, invention, or commodity."</span><br /><br />This short extract from <a href="http://dictionary.oed.com">OED online</a> (see patent adj.) is reproduced under fair use.<br /><br />The Gazette is the Government's Official Newspaper. Duchy of Lancaster announcements are included <a href="http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/recent/10/state">State Notices</a>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-83254769495307650752010-01-01T10:29:00.002+00:002010-01-01T10:35:07.462+00:00Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have to pay rent from today"From today, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent will have to meet the £120,000-a-year rent on their Kensington Palace apartment out of their own pockets."<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1239787/Tireless-Queen-shows-sign-letting-age-83.html">Daily Mail</a><br /><br />I welcome this but I call on the Government to make further reforms during 2010:<br /><br />(1) ensuring a clear split between the public and private expenditure of the Royal Family.<br />(2) making the publicly funded bodies subject to the Freedom of Information Act<br />(3) allowing the National Audit Office to audit the publicly funded bodies <br />(4) reducing Civil List payments by 20%confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-49333053433805915372009-12-30T16:07:00.009+00:002009-12-30T17:01:18.896+00:00The Commonwealth a popular club for Republics?I sometimes get the feeling that one reason some people in the UK want to keep the monarchy is because of the Commonwealth. The Queen appears to offer us membership of a sort of international club who share a single head of state. Except they don't:<br /><br />There are 54 member states, of these 16 have the Queen as head of state, <span style="font-weight:bold;">33 members are republics</span> and 5 members have distinct monarchs:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li>the Sultan of Brunei (<a href="http://www.freedomhouse.org/inc/content/pubs/pfs/inc_country_detail.cfm?country=6929&year=2007&pf">a country without press freedom</a>)</li><br /><li>the King of Lesotho</li><br /><li>the Yang di-Pertuan Agong</li> <br /><li>the King of Swaziland</li><br /><li>the King of Tonga (<a href="http://fijidailypost.com/feature.php?date=20080728&index=575">a King committed to further devolution of more royal prerogatives to Parliament</a>)</li><br /></ul><br /><br />Whilst many countries may feel it is advantageous to be seen to be part of the Commonwealth a majority of these have a Republican system of Government and others are likely to follow.confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-22099802202999213652009-12-21T21:52:00.008+00:002009-12-21T22:33:21.538+00:00ICO comprehensively rejects royal secrecy exemptionsIt is worth taking a closer look at a recent <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/decisionnotices/2009/fs_50154684.pdf">ICO ruling</a> to see just how desperate the Government is to keep information about the Royal's secret.<br /><br />The Government tried to use no less than eight separate exemptions to keep the information secret the ICO found that five of these exemptions were not relevant and two of the others should not have been used to withhold information. I have to concede that one of the exemptions was correctly applied but it related to less than 4% of the documents falling in the scope of the request. <br /><br />Today is a good day for anyone who believes in transparency. The ICO has issued a polite yet damming ruling against the Governments attempt to protect the Royal Finances from scrutiny. <br /><br />FOI requestors will be able to use the arguments in this Decision Notice to get more information about the Royal Family released more quickly.<br /><br />The Government refused to disclose the information under:<br /><br /><ol><br /><li>FOI section 21: Information Accessible By Other Means <font color="red">[relevant, applied to just four out of more than 100 documents]</font></li><br /><li>FOI section 31: Law Enforcement <font color="red">[not relevant]</font></li><br /><li>FOI section 36: Prejudice To Effective Conduct Of Public Affairs <font color="red">[relevant but public interest was still in favour of disclosure]</font></li><br /><li>FOI section 37: Communications With Her Majesty, With Other Members Of The Royal Household, And The Conferring By The Crown Of Any Honour Or Dignity <font color="red">[relevant but public interest was still in favour of disclosure]</font></li><br /><li>FOI section 38: Health And Safety <font color="red">[not relevant]</font></li><br /><li>FOI section 43: Commercial Interests <font color="red">[not relevant]</font></li><br /><li>EIR reg 12(5)(d): Confidentiality of the Proceedings <font color="red">[not relevant]</font></li><br /><li>EIR reg 12 (5)(f):Adverse impact on the interests of the person who provided the information <font color="red">[not relevant]</font></li><br /></ol>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775623679871508275.post-19194765563858805232009-12-19T09:03:00.002+00:002010-06-17T22:24:41.084+01:00Three Cheers for the Chairman of the House of Commons justice committee"The chairman of the House of Commons justice committee, which scrutinises secrecy laws, called for the disclosure of recent letters from the prince to cabinet ministers including Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper, on subjects thought to range from the standard of primary school education to the design of ecotowns."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/18/prince-charles-letters">http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/18/prince-charles-letters</a>confirm or denyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782328821002646113noreply@blogger.com0