The freedom of information officer's handbook / Paul Gibbons.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gibbons, Paul, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Great Britain.

Freedom of information--Great Britain.

Freedom of information.

Information management.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxii, 290 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London : Facet, 2019.

Summary:

Freedom of information (FOI) is now an international phenomenon with over 100 countries from Albania to Zimbabwe enacting the right to know for their citizens. Since 2005, the UK's Freedom of Information Act has opened up thousands of public bodies to unparalleled scrutiny and prompted further moves to transparency. This book provides a comprehensive guide to the practical management of freedom of information compliance, including interpretation of the Act as well as the Environmental Information Regulations. The UK Freedom of Information Act has now been in force for 12 years. Despite regular attempts to reform it most recently the government's establishment of an Independent FOI Commission in 2015/16 it has largely survived intact. This book documents best practice, the light that is cast by regulator guidance and case law, and the author's views on how FOI should be managed now that it has matured and become embedded in public authorities. It's hoped that the book will cement a positive approach to FOI in public bodies and help them to better meet their obligations. The Freedom of Information Officer's Handbook will be required reading for anyone responsible for, or involved with, managing compliance with FOI. The book will also cover FOI in other parts of the British Islands, so will be of interest to practitioners in the Isle of Man, Jersey, Scotland and Ireland. A substantial portion of the book focuses on practical aspects of delivering FOI, which are not unique to the UK, so the book will have relevance to those managing FOI obligations in other countries around the world.

Contents:

Intro

Title page

Contents

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction

FOI officers

The aims of this book

Around the world

A note on the British islands

The structure of this book

Research

Terminology

Finally

Part 1 Understanding FOI

Chapter 1 A brief history of freedom of information

We didn't start the FOIA

FOI in the 20th century

The UK's path towards FOIA

From the 'right to know' to the FOIA

What's the point of the FOIA?

Changes to the FOIA

Other laws providing access to information

The future of FOI in the UK

Chapter 2 Understanding the Act

Legislation in the UK

Duties under the FOIA

Which organisations have to comply with the FOIA?

Communicating with the applicant

Valid requests

How long can public authorities take to answer requests?

What is 'information'?

Is information held?

Creating new information

The format of information

Fees and cost limits

Vexatious and repeated requests

The codes of practice

Exemptions

The Information Commissioner

Other provisions

Chapter 3 The exemptions in the FOIA

Exemptions - some terminology

The public interest test

The Part II exemptions

Chapter 4 The FOI officer's toolkit

Codes of practice

The UK Information Commissioner's guidance

Other published guidance

ICO decision notices

Tribunal decisions and case law

Other online resources

Professional associations and other networks

Part 2 FOI in context

Chapter 5 The Environmental Information Regulations

Why do we have EIR?

The relationship between the FOIA and the EIR

Which bodies are subject to the EIR?

What is environmental information?.

The categories listed at regulation 2(1)

Similarities between the EIR and the FOIA

Differences between the EIR and the FOIA

Chapter 6 The FOIA, personal information and the GDPR

What is personal information?

FOI and subject access

Third-party personal information

Judging fairness

The article 6 conditions and legitimate interests

Employees and elected officials

Chapter 7 Records and archives

What is a record?

The section 46 code and enforcement

What Part 1 of the code requires

The Public Records Act 1958 and Part 2 of the code

The FOIA and 'historical records'

How long do exemptions last?

Archivists and the FOIA

Managing FOIA obligations in an archive

Chapter 8 Publication schemes and proactive disclosure

What the FOIA says about publication schemes

The model publication scheme

Publication scheme guides

Datasets rules

The new s. 45 code of practice and publication schemes

The EIR

Publication schemes and the FOIA exemptions

Other proactive transparency requirements in the UK

Disclosure logs

Chapter 9 Copyright and re-use of information

Copyright

Open data

Dataset rules

The Open Government Licence

The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015

Can FOIA provisions be used to protect copyright?

Practical issues

Part 3 FOI in practice

Chapter 10 The FOI officer

What does the FOIA say about FOI officers?

How widespread are FOI officers?

Where do FOI officers fit in?

How many FOI officers?

FOI officers in Ireland

Data protection officers

Recruiting FOI officers

The FOI officer's development

Supporting FOI officers

The attitude of FOI officers

How do others see FOI officers?

Chapter 11 Embedding FOI

Introduction.

Senior level commitment

Performance monitoring

FOI policies and procedures

Contractors

Transparency by design

Organising FOIA administration

FOI liaison officers

Raising awareness options

Training

Uncooperative colleagues

Chapter 12 Managing FOI requests

Receiving requests

Acknowledging requests

Systems for managing requests

What information should be recorded?

Which requests should be logged?

Should the identities of applicants be circulated?

Allocating requests

FOI triage

Searching for information

Consulting third parties

'Round robins'

Keeping on track

Providing advice

Preparing material

Redaction and hidden data

Approving responses

Sending responses

Keeping records

Chapter 13 Communicating with applicants

First contact

Providing assistance to potential applicants

Clarifying requests

Means of communication

What do they know and request portals

'Googling' applicants

Journalists

Responses

Chapter 14 Internal reviews and appeals

Internal review

EIR complaints

Practical considerations

Questions to consider

Responding to the complainant

Complaints to the ICO

Other action the Commissioner might take

Appeals to the First-Tier Tribunal

Appeals beyond the FTT

Appendix 1 Methodology of the 2017 council survey on the administration of FOI requests

Appendix 2 FOI response templates

Disclosing information as an attachment

Disclosing information as answers to questions

Where exemptions apply

Where the cost exceeds the appropriate limit

Appendix 3 Privacy notice for FOI requests

Notes

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7.

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Jul 2019).

ISBN:

9781783303557

1783303557