Could publishing more information cut Freedom of Information requests? Auditors have suggested Torridge District Council improves the information it shares with the public in order to reduce the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests it receives. Between January 2022 and February 2024 the council received 1,675 such requests, roughly two every day. Paul Middlemass from the Devon Audit Partnership said there good arrangements are in place to manage FOI requests but said the council should include more details on its website to keep the public informed and to reduce the need for such re ..read more

FOI Friday is about celebrating FOI successes. So as well as the stories making the news this week, there’s also a couple of updates on previous stories. Firstly, the Liverpool Echo has won a victory in its battle with Liverpool Council for the release of the identity of two elected councillors who were summonsed to court over non-payment of council tax. This was a fast turn-around decision notice from the ICO (the complaint appears to have been made in early February) – the prioritisation of complaints does appear to be effective in cases like this (previously the councillors in question coul ..read more

Some FOI request ideas will potentially work anywhere – just how long have those roadworks driving everyone round the bend actually been going on? Where are you most likely to find shared houses in your city? Some ideas could be adapted to different public bodies – what’s been lost or stolen (laptops, vehicles, etc.) or what happens to people who behave badly (or all the places you could get banned from). This week’s FOI Friday has some ideas (or you can dig through the archives). Want to keep up to date with data journalism and freedom of information news and tips? Join the mailing list so y ..read more

Another weekly round-up of Freedom of Information requests making the news. This week is a combo of classics (never events and nicked bikes) and some requests that dig deeper into current issues. Want to keep up to date with data journalism and freedom of information news and tips? Join the mailing list so you don’t miss an update. Your submitted information will be used to send you emails. You can unsubscribe at any time. Leave this field empty if you’re human: SEN assessments Schools are far more likely than parents to have requests for education health and care plans (EHCPs) approved by c ..read more

Information is a broad concept within the Freedom of Information. It can mean numbers or statistics taken from a public body’s database. It can be emails, messages and WhatsApps (if you can get ’em) about official business. It can be unpublished reports. It might be pictures of a footballer statue. So what are people getting out of public bodies this week… Want to keep up to date with data journalism and freedom of information news and tips? Join the mailing list so you don’t miss an update. Your submitted information will be used to send you emails. You can unsubscribe at any time. Leave th ..read more

A quick round-up of Freedom of Information stories this week… Want to keep up to date with data journalism and freedom of information news and tips? Join the mailing list so you don’t miss an update. Your submitted information will be used to send you emails. You can unsubscribe at any time. Leave this field empty if you’re human: Weapons in schools A knuckle duster and nunchucks were among the weapons seized from children in schools across the Avon and Somerset area in recent years. A Freedom of Information request disclosed Avon and Somerset Police seized 13 items in schools in its force a ..read more

Later tonight (or today if you’re in the right timezone), the Oscars will be handed out. And before the golden envelope is opened, there’s lots of predicting of the winners going on. One way you can predict is with data (or via the total predictability of the film awards season). There’s lots of data. There’s predictable patterns (win one award, up your chances for an Oscar, Best Picture and Best Director often go to the same film). So who’s going to win this year? Want to keep up to date with data journalism and freedom of information news and tips? Join the mailing list so you don’t miss an ..read more

Writing this week’s FOI Friday from the train in the way to OpenDemocracy’s Freedom of Information conference. I’m speaking on a panel about the ICO’s record – I think the broad theme is there’s been an improvement on the FOI side but the bar, following Liz Denham’s time as Commissioner, was on the floor. The ICO is now issuing enforcement and practice notices, which is really the bare minimum they should be, but it feels like it’s going to take a while to undo some of the really bad habits public bodies have picked up. The prioritisation of complaints based on public interest appears to be wo ..read more

This week feels like a bit of roads and motorist Freedom of Information special. Potholes, parking fines, speeding cameras are all classic FOI topics – and as potholes will appear every wet icy winter and drivers seem unlikely to learn to obey traffic rules, they’re likely to long continue to be a good starting point for requests. Want to keep up to date with data journalism and freedom of information news and tips? Join the mailing list so you don’t miss an update. Your submitted information will be used to send you emails. You can unsubscribe at any time. Leave this field empty if you’re h ..read more

The power of Freedom of Information requests is you can ask for whatever information you want (you might not always get it). The first two stories this week feature FOI used for follow-ups – to official data or to another FOI. Using the Act this way means you potentially get more detail to broader statistics. For example, hundreds of people having their hospital care disrupted by hospital maintenance issues is a strong story, but using FOI to get the reasons why buildings are failing makes it stronger. Want to keep up to date with data journalism and freedom of information news and tips? Join ..read more