GEN-MEDIEVAL-L Archives

Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 2004-10 > 1097565675


From: James Kemp <>
Subject: Re: The British/English Constitution
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 07:21:15 GMT
References: <7f.4dc950e3.2e91e588@aol.com><qf08d.166$C4.5515@eagle.america.net> <ck6ntb$bfi$1@titan.btinternet.com><aCQ9d.81$5I2.46@newsfe1-gui.ntli.net><XoFad.421$7i5.367@newsfe1-win.ntli.net>


Someone known as Thur scribed the following at 00:17:59 on Tue, 12 Oct
2004, allegedly:

>Has the USA system anything to offer us?
>Freedom of Information perhaps.

We've got that. The FOI Act is already partly in force making all public
bodies publish material and have a publication scheme on their website.
If you take a good look at Government websites you'll find a whole load
of material on them that wasn't available before the FOI Act was passed.

Also from 1 Jan 2005 the rest of the provisions of the FOI Act come into
force. Basically it means that anyone can ask (although it must be in
writing) for any information that is held and it must be supplied within
a defined timescale (15 working days IIRC).

There are exemptions to cover data protection (so you can't ask about
information that would be covered under the Data Protection Act -
although you can still get data about yourself under the DPA);
commercial sensitivity & national security.

For most Departments these won't apply and so you will have to get the
answers. I also expect that the courts will blow a hole in the
commercial sensitivity of many issues since we're talking about the
management of public funds and the efficiency of public service,
especially in a climate of 100,000 civil service job cuts (which is
approx 20% of the civil service).

--
James Kemp
Sergeant, Colonel John Fox's Regiment of Foote
http://www.johnfox.org.uk/

This thread: