Your Right to Know

Brooke Heather

Description

Have you ever wanted to know:

- Which doctor has the best operation success rate in your health trust?

- If MI5 has a file on you?

- The actual number and type of crimes that happen in your street?

- Which streets are targeted by parking attendants in your area?

- Which buildings have failed their fire safety inspections?



The public had no right to most of this information - until now. In 2005 the Freedom of Information Act came into force giving the British public a legal right, for the first time, to access information from more than 100,000 public authorities. But in order to take advantage of this new right you first have to know who holds the information and how to get it. This guide gives you the tools you need to get the information you want.



This edition comes with a new foreword by Ian Hislop.
Foreword by Ian Hislop



Introduction



Chapter 1 - FOI in practice



Chapter 2 - Scotland



Chapter 3 - Laws of Access



Chapter 4 - Central Government



Chapter 5 - Intelligence, Security and Defence



Chapter 6 - Transport



Chapter 7 - The Justice System



Chapter 8 - Law Enforcement and Civil Defence



Chapter 9 - Health



Chapter 10 - The Environment



Chapter 11 - Local Government



Chapter 12 - Education



Chapter 13 - Private Companies



Chapter 14 - Information about Individuals



Conclusion



Appendix - Letters for requesting information

Sujets

• Human Rights
• Political Science
• Civil Rights
• Industries
• Civics
• Civil and political rights
• Journalism
• Citizenship
• LAW
• Industrie
• Media

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 octobre 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781849643375
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Your Right to Know A Citizen’s Guide to the Freedom of Information Act

Second Edition

Heather Brooke

P Pluto Press LONDON • ANN ARBOR, MI

First published 2005 Second edition 2007 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and 839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106

www.plutobooks.com

Copyright © Heather Brooke, 2005, 2007

The right of Heather Brooke to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN13 ISBN10 ISBN13 ISBN10

978 0 7453 2583 5 hardback 0 7453 2583 1 hardback 978 0 7453 2582 8 paperback 0 7453 2582 3 paperback

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for

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Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Chase Publishing Services Ltd, Fortescue, Sidmouth, EX10 9QG, England Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England Printed and bound in the European Union by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne, England

Conclusion

Scotland

Laws of Access

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Introduction

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FOI in practice

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The Environment

Intelligence, Security and Defence

Central Government

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Information about Individuals

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Local Government

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Forewordby Ian Hislop Acknowledgements

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Law Enforcement and Civil Defence

Private Companies

Health

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The Justice System

Transport

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Appendix– Letters for Requesting Information Index

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Last year Heather Brooke was shortlisted for the Paul Foot Award, a prize set up in honour of the late campaigner and investigative journalist, and the first edition of this book was highly recommended by the judging panel. Paul Foot would certainly have approved of this choice as one of his favourite quotations came from a poem by Hilaire Belloc, a copy of which he pinned above my desk. The poem is called ‘A Ballad of General Misapprehension’ and the refrain at the end of each verse goes:

But these are things that people do not know: They do not know because they are not told.

This for Paul Foot was the essence of journalism, to give people information that is being denied them, and he would have been delighted to see the principle extended further to embrace not just the professional reporter but the ordinary citizen too. There is a great deal we do not know about the workings of our own government and our public services and the reason we don’t know is that noone tells us. In fact they go out of their way not to tell us and despite the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act they are still finding reasons not to tell us. Heather Brooke makes it clear that the important thing is to keep asking the questions and her handbook is a terrific guide to how to put these questions to the right people. And how to keep going with them until you get some sort of answer. The good news is that answers are being given, to all sorts of enquiries that might previously have been considered as too important, too sensitive, or just too impertinent. The bad news is that the opponents of Freedom of Information are claiming that the whole process is too expensive and that people are asking silly questions and merely wasting officials’ time. Heather Brooke’s accounts of the successes of Freedom of Information and her analysis of why transparency could actually prevent mismanagement and even disaster are a convincing riposte to such allegations and affirm the genuine value of the public’s right to know. This book was sufficiently successful first time out to now be called YRTK but if we are talking acronyms it should actually be

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Foreword vii

called DIYFOI. Brooke does not merely want to conduct investigations herself. She wants you, the general public, to go out and find out about issues that concern you – whether it is policing terrorism, awarding private companies public contracts, EU farm subsidies, local councils selling playing fields or anything else that comes to mind. If this is not exactly a call to arms, it is certainly a call to write a letter. Belloc’s poem contains the memorable line:

So grin and bear it, Stupid, do not bleat.

In this country we have perhaps been too good at the grinning and bearing it and not very good at the bleating bit. And maybe it has taken an American like Heather Brooke (I got this piece of information without recourse to FOI legislation) to alert us to what we should and can do to correct our ‘general misapprehension’ and exercise our right to know.

Ian Hislop 2006

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This is a book for citizens so firstly I would like to thank all the people who wrote in with suggestions, queries, experiences and even praise for the first edition of the book and the www.yrtk.org website. It’s always heartening as an author to know that the work one does in solitary confinement is read and used by others. There would not be a second edition without the team at Pluto Press, so thanks to all the editors and staff, particularly David Castle. I am very grateful to Ian Hislop for graciously agreeing to write the new foreword. Tom Young was a blessing for helping with research, interviews and fact checking. Thanks also to various FOI officers, too many to name, for sharing their experiences with me. Steve Wood at Liverpool John Moores University deserves praise for assiduously maintaining a fantastic FOI blog that continues to set the standard for the FOI community. As ever, continued appreciation to Maurice Frankel and Katherine Gundersen at the Campaign for Freedom of Information for their work and to David Banisar who keeps me informed about what’s happening in the wider world of FOI. There are lots of other people to thank including all those mentioned in the first edition. Finally, the biggest thank you, as always, goes to my husband, Vaci, who continues to inspire and support in equal measure. Behind every great woman, there is sometimes an even better man.

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Introduction

‘There is not a crime, there is not a dodge, there is not a trick, there is not a swindle which does not live by secrecy. Get these things out in the open, describe them, attack them, ridicule them in the press, and sooner or later public opinion will sweep them away.’ Joseph Pulitzer

The new second edition ofYour Right to Knowcomes almost two years after the rst. Writing the original, I often felt like a fortuneteller, trying to predict how people would use the Freedom of Information Act and the subsequent reaction by politicians to being held directly accountable to citizens. Now, after two years, it is much easier to see the good and bad points of the law in practice. This new update takes into account all the many and varied requests made in the rst two years by campaigners, journalists, politicians, lawyers, trade unionists, historians, consumer groups, researchers and citizens. Its satisfying to see that many of the issues I campaigned for in the rst edition have come to pass. For the rst time, the British public can now see restaurant inspections, MPs expenses, contracts for public services provided by private companies and police incident reports. But these are just the basics of accountable government, a chink of light in a very dark cavern! Fortunately, there are many people asking their own questions and setting new precedents for greater openness. Thats the purpose of this book. The government and practitioners have plenty of books and experts advising them on the law, butYour Right to Know remains the only publication by, and for, the citizen. The Freedom of Information Act and its sister the Environmental Information Regulations came into force on 1 January 2005. The laws cover more than 100,000 public authorities and mean a wealth of previously secret information is now accessible for the rst time  but only if you know where to look and how to ask the right questions. Already, we are seeing power shift back into the hands of people as they use the laws to ask searching questions about our public services. While not quite the sword of truth some had hoped, the new laws are an effective chisel against government secrecy and corruption. Some of the major disclosures in the rst year and half include:

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Lists of all those receiving farm subsidies from the EU. The big surprise was that Nestlé, Unilever, Tate & Lyle, the Royals and the Duke of Westminster pocketed the most. Mortality rates for all Scottish surgeons and some English surgeons A full listing of all Post Ofce closures in the coming years Taxi receipts for Scottish MSPs leading to the resignation of Tory MSP leader David McLetchie over questions about taxi misuse. (Other MSPs were forced to reimburse the taxpayer for abusing the system.) The cost of policing Abu Hamzas street pulpit for almost a year = £900,000. Hamza was later found guilty of inciting murder and racial hatred. The amount councils have earned from selling off playing elds Documents that showed De Montfort University had lowered pass grades so pharmacy students could continue to study even though they had failed their exams The release of a Suffolk policemans notebook to a motorist who complained about his behaviour.

WHAT’S NEW?

This edition includes a new chapter FOI in Practice that discusses the implementation and enforcement of the new laws. It pinpoints the major problems that have developed and how best to overcome them. Youll nd new references to case law from the Scottish and UK Information Commissioners and Information Tribunal along with precedentsetting disclosures that you can use in your own quest for answers. This book does not need to be read covertocover. Youll nd an explanation of your rights and how to use them in the Laws of Access chapter, but if legal discussion daunts you, skip directly to the chapter that deals with the type of information you seek. Each chapter includes a selection of interesting FOI disclosures and a discussion on that sectors response to the law, tips for digging out information, where the trouble spots are and how to overcome them. All contact details have been thoroughly updated and will continue to be monitored via the Your Right to Know website, www.yrtk. org. Ive included internet sites where you can obtain answers and wherever possible, named FOI contacts for relevant agencies. There

Introduction 3

are a few exceptions where public bodies are so mired in secrecy they refuse to even disclose the name of their openness ofcer (e.g. The Highways Agency)! A few public bodies are new to this edition, namely the Charity Commission, the BBC, Channel 4 and the Royal Mail (Post Ofce). These public bodies have become popular targets for requests and while not strictly part of central government you will nd their contacts in Chapter 4. Scotland gets its own section as it has taken the lead on issues of freedom of information due to its competent and decisive Commissioner and the progressive view taken by Parliament on the issue of MSPs expenses. Important precedents are being set in Scotland that will inuence what happens in the UK. The chapter on private companies includes more information on getting contracts, tenders and performance evaluations. As public authorities contract out more of their services, freedom of information is one of the only ways to monitor how taxpayers money is spent. In America, businesses are major users of FOI, and it is likely they will be in the UK, too. British commerce is a very cosy coterie with the same big businesses getting all the big government contracts. Small and new businesses often have little chance of landing a contract, even when their services are superior and better value for money. FOI can expose the informal lobbying and uncompetitive practices that stie the free market. There are new template letters at the back of the book for most types of requests. Feel free to use them or adapt them as you see t. And please do let me know about your successes, failures or frustrations via www.yrtk.org

TIME FOR CHANGE

Getting information out of government is not always easy. For every disclosure there are hundreds of refusals. Parliament is still far from open with our own MPs refusing to release their detailed expense claims, in contrast to the new transparency of Scottish MSPs. A catalogue of intelligence failures that culminated with the London bombings and subsequent shooting of an innocent man on the London Underground have not led to the needed reforms in the security and police services. The courts, too, need a major overhaul as they remain secretive, unaccountable and unjust with little regard for the lawabiding publics right to see justice being done.