Freedom of Information Act to be “neutered” by UK government
This is from this week's NUJ newsletter, which dropped into my inbox this morning. Although it may not affect you directly, I think this is something that we should all be alarmed about. (Bold type is my emphasis.) I've written to my MP this morning.
It’s the last chance to get in your protests about Government plans to neuter the Freedom of Information Act. The Act has been successfully used by journalists across all media to uncover information politicians, corporations and others want to keep secret.
Plans by the Government to amend the Act will make it easier for public authorities to turn down legitimate requests on the basis of cost. There are also plans to exempt MPs from the requirements of the Act.
The NUJ has joined forces with campaigners and industry bodies to oppose the changes. Make sure your voice is heard before the Government consultation closes on 8 March.
Sign up to the Press Gazette petition at http://www.pressgazette.co.uk.
Tell your MP what you think. Go to http://www.writetothem.co.uk.
For further information and other campaign tools see http://www.cfoi.org.uk. Do it today – before it’s too late!
It’s the last chance to get in your protests about Government plans to neuter the Freedom of Information Act. The Act has been successfully used by journalists across all media to uncover information politicians, corporations and others want to keep secret.
Plans by the Government to amend the Act will make it easier for public authorities to turn down legitimate requests on the basis of cost. There are also plans to exempt MPs from the requirements of the Act.
The NUJ has joined forces with campaigners and industry bodies to oppose the changes. Make sure your voice is heard before the Government consultation closes on 8 March.
Sign up to the Press Gazette petition at http://www.pressgazette.co.uk.
Tell your MP what you think. Go to http://www.writetothem.co.uk.
For further information and other campaign tools see http://www.cfoi.org.uk. Do it today – before it’s too late!
permalink posted by * (asterisk) at 11:36 AM
12 Comments:
That's scary actually.
Grazie *A per l'avvertimento.
If you don't mind I'll link from my blog to yours about this.
So, am I interpreting this correctly - the government wants to make it harder for non-politicians to access information about politicians? But the government can still access information about the average citizen?
T: It sure is. Go sign up to the petition!
Milla: Thanks. It's worth people knowing, I think.
LDB: That's about the long and short of it, yes. It's what makes Britain great, don'cha know?
to cut costs! yup, as per, more money i their fucking pockets instead of it going where it should. ie hospitals, schools etc.
this a week after we were told an old lady died in a hospital ward when her maggot infested wound had gone "bad".
since when did this become a third world country?
set of cunts indeed! this weeks cunt of the week? i think so!
you see what daylight is doing to me? serious conversations! can't be good!
This kind of feeling seems to be growing and showing up everywhere...very scary. Good post and making sure it gets out there!
For once I can sympathise with both sides of an argument.
In Scotland we have recently had published what each individual MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) claimed in expenses last year. Incredibly they claimed an average of £75,500 last year! Yes that is the correct number of zeros - 129 MSPs claimed £9.4 million in expenses.
For this reason I fully support any moves to keep this information public.
On the other hand I work in a public sector company and know the amount of work that goes into some Freedom of Information replies. For instance one of my staff recently had to spend an entire day digging through e-mail archives for one specific item of information. Hardly an efficient use of public money.
What next! This country is going down the pan.
Now I'm off to register my complaint.
As I get older I become increasingly angry and cynical. We can't stop them by 'legal' means anymore. By the time I hit 80 I'll be bombing the bastards I think.
ha ha ha ha! sorry, just the thought of an 80 year 4D!
comical!
Do you guys get to vote on this?
Yes, this is showing up everywhere. I keep telling people to watch the documentary "The Corporation." We are in scary times - what can we do?
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