Setting the example!
The UK information Commissioners Office (ICO) has a press release titled: ICO urges routine publication of official information. The press release states:
“From 1 January 2009 it became a legal requirement for public bodies to adopt the new model publication scheme which sets out what information is routinely available to the public. New research conducted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) highlights that 26 out of 30 large public bodies reviewed have adopted the model publication scheme setting out what official information will be disclosed. Four government bodies have not adopted the scheme.
The ICO’s Central Government Sector Monitoring Report highlights that some of the UK’s biggest public bodies are making it harder than necessary for citizens to gain access to information about how public money is spent. Few of the authorities reviewed release any detailed information proactively concerning senior staff allowances and expenses, although the Northern Ireland Assembly and the National Assembly for Wales have been making information routinely available for some time. Some authorities are not releasing information on a proactive basis about the contracts they have awarded (or their value) or details about their registers of hospitality and gifts.”
The monitoring report titled: Freedom of Information Act - Model Publication Scheme 2009: Central Government Sector Monitoring Report. The 23 page report states within the Executive Summary:
“1 The exercise has revealed that less than three quarters of the authorities we monitored in this sector have adopted the model publication scheme. It is of serious concern to the ICO that eight authorities are in breach of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
2 The ICO would expect the central government sector (including Westminster and the two National Assemblies) to take the lead across the public sector in setting the standard in regard to compliance with the requirements of the FOIA. The apparent non-compliance is further disappointing given the sector’s active engagement in the ICO workshops during the development of the model scheme and our wider communications with the sector prior to January 2009, most specifically the former Information Commissioner’s letter to all Permanent Secretaries in June 2008.”
ICO Publishes PSI landmark Decision Notices
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