|
| Purchase options: |
Details: |
 |
ISBN: 1-904769-09-8
|
|
Published by Free Pint Limited.
|
|
Written by Steve Wood
|
|
Book published May 2005
|
|
Title:
Complying with Freedom of Information Legislation: A guide for Practitioners
Review:
According to Home Office research, the net incremental cost of
implementing the Freedom of Information Act 2000(FOI) could be up to
GBP125 million a year. Many public sector organisations are struggling with the resource implications of FOI and with trying to make sense of the reams of legislation and guidance which has been produced by various organisations.
In this climate, this publication is to be welcomed. Steve Wood, a
senior lecturer in Information Management at Liverpool John Moores
University, has produced a clear and concise guide to the murky legal
waters of FOI http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/.
He explains the main provisions of the Act and codes of practice and
their impact on different parts of the public sector. He also examines the links between FOI and other legislation such as the Data
Protection Act 1998, the Local Government Act 1972 and the new
Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Steve also looks at the
thorny issues which, I know from my training experience, public
authorities up and down the country are grappling with e.g. access to
deceased persons' records, copyright and commercially sensitive
information. However, the Guide does not get bogged down with the
minutiae of the legislation. Steve's approach is to point the reader
to other sources of information for more in depth analysis.
Throughout the Guide, reference is made to research and experience in
other jurisdictions which have freedom of information legislation,
particularly Australia and Canada. This is particularly helpful as,
currently, no decisions have been publicised by the Information
Commissioner. The Guide also draws on examples of requests and
refusals from various sectors (including the police, local government
and the NHS) making practical action points for the reader to
implement within his/her organisation. It also lists the various
guidance produced by a number of agencies including the Information
Commissioner's Office.
What is most useful are the lists, at the back of the Guide, of
websites, guidance, official reports and articles from the UK and
around the world. Of course these lists are not exhaustive and
up-to-date material can be found on Steve's excellent Freedom of
Information Blog http://foia.blogspot.com. To those seeking a no
nonsense practical guide to implementing Freedom of Information, I
would say that the GBP29 for this publication is money well spent.
The report is available at http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/.
Free Pint Reviewer:
Ibrahim Hasan is an information law expert with public sector training company, Act Now Training http://www.actnow.org.uk Email:
Related Free Pint Links:
|
