I am very lucky to have some very good researchers working for me on a corruption monitoring project that is being sponsored by the Open Society Institute’s Justice Initiative. One of the areas we are investigating is the oil extractive industry and City University student Elena Egawhary is doing an excellent job researching the anti-corruption mechanisms in place within this industry. Last week, she turned some of her findings into an article for the Guardian. Well done Elena!

The full EDU register of oil company hospitality

All in a day’s schmoozing for men from the ministry
Guardian, Friday July 6, 2007
By Elena Egawhary

The hospitality chalets at the All England Lawn Tennis Club have always been synonymous with public relations excess. But the identity of one unexpected recipient of the corporate Pimm’s and strawberries has raised eyebrows among green campaigners.

The giant oil company Chevron has provided an all-expenses-paid day out at Wimbledon for Jim Campbell, the civil servant in charge of regulating Britain’s oil and gas industry, including responsibility for pollution and oil spills.

The company says the invitation is an annual event – Mr Campbell went last year. Although it was coy about disclosing the cost, corporate hospitality firms quote up to £1,000 a head for packages that include the tennis tickets, drinks and meals.

The Wimbledon gift is only one example of the treats oil companies are showering on a single, sensitive, section of the Department of Trade and Industry – now renamed the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Documents obtained from the department’s Energy Development Unit (EDU) show that in the course of a single year, officials were given, among other things, a racing day at Glorious Goodwood. They also got private art views, a trip to the ballet, a golf outing, a party visiting the crown jewels at the Tower of London, tickets to balls, dinner in a Michelin-starred restaurant, and a case of champagne from Shell for Christmas.
(more…)

The Ambulance Trusts in England were reconfigured on 1st July 2006. There are now 12 Ambulance Trusts and a separate management arrangement for the Isle of Wight.

These documents which I uncovered contain useful contact details for the new Ambulance Trusts.

Contact Information for New Ambulance Trusts (PDF, 44K)

Information on Reconfiguration of NHS Ambulance Trusts – implications for protocols (PDF, 60K)

David Banisar’s Freedom of Information Around the World 2006, a global survey of access to government information laws, was released today by Privacy International. The Survey provides a comprehensive review of Freedom of Information Laws and practices in nearly 70 countries around the world.

The survey draws attention to the growing movement around the world to adopt FOI laws. In just the past two years, over a dozen countries have adopted new laws and decrees, while dozens more are considering proposals. Important international treaties such as the UN Convention Against Corruption have also gone into force. These laws are being used to fight corruption, make government bodies accountable and promote social and human rights.

Unfortunately, the survey also highlights that many problems still exist such as poorly drafted laws, lax implementation and an ongoing culture of secrecy in many countries. There are also dangers in backsliding such as in Ireland where the imposition of onerous fees has significantly reduced use of the law and in the United Kingdom where a similar proposal is being considered. New laws promoting secrecy in the global war on terror have also undercut access.

The report is being released just prior to the 3rd Annual International Right to Know Day on 28 September. Advocates in dozens of countries will be holding events celebrating the day.

An interactive version of the report, in conjunction with freedominfo.org and the Open Society Justice Institute will be released shortly.

For more information, contact: David Banisar [banisard (@) privacy.org], Director, FOI Project

The Information Commissioner has served a Decision Notice under the Environmental Information Regulations ordering Ofcom to provide all data on mobile phone base stations held within its Sitefinder database.

Cellular base stations receive and transmit signals to and from mobile phones. The Sitefinder database was set up in response to the Stewart Report. The report set out the findings of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones which was established to assess the state of research into possible health risks from mobile phones.

Ofcom did not present sufficient evidence to suggest there is a particular risk to the security of base stations, particularly in light of the information that is already available in the public domain. The Commissioner also determined that while database rights and copyright exist, that would not prevent Ofcom from disclosing the requested information.

Ofcom has 35 days to publish the material or appeal to the Tribunal. The Commissioner has yet to publish the full decision notice on his website.

This week I read the results of a poll conducted by the Taxpayers Alliance. One of the key findings is that the public holds politicians and the current political system in contempt:

“All debate about alternatives is tainted by this general contempt and hopelessness: people cannot imagine any political force that reverses decline since they see politicians as a self-serving elite with a total grip that cannot be broken.”

If politicians and public servants are serious about reconnecting with the public then they must ditch their snobbish and condescending attitudes and start sharing power and knowledge with the public. I cannot count the number of times I have come across public servants who think their only obligation toward members of the public is to take our money. Public officials routinely refuse to publish line-item budgets, detailed expenses, contact details and in many cases even refuse to divulge their names!

This is simply unacceptable in a democracy. Here’s a suggestion for any public body concerned about its plummeting reputation – start answering all FOI requests in full and holding open meetings where the public have a say.

The latest version of Steve Wood’s Open Government Journal is now online. It contains a particularly interesting article written by Paul Kelly, a former Canadian FOI Officer, about all the tricks used to block requests – some lessons for those of us encountering similarly obstructive UK officials.

Open Government: a journal on freedom of Information
www.opengovjournal.org

August 2006
Volume 2 Issue 1 now available

I found this data kicking around in my office and thought there might be others who would find it interesting, so I’ve finally posted it online. These are the databases of all accidents reported to Transport for London on routes where Bendy Buses operate.

The documents detail accidents on bendy bus routes 12, 18, 25, 73, 149, 436, 453, 507, and 521. The data provided is split into these routes, on separate excel spreadsheets. It includes data from the time the routes became articulated up until the end of 2004.

Check out Secret Squirrel for all the data. This is a good reason why TfL needs a disclosure log. I’ve had this data since last summer, and effectively, I’m acting as TfL’s disclosure log by posting it on my website. But really, it’s TfL’s responsibility to get this information into the public domain, and it would make more sense for TfL to simply update new data to a publicly acessible online site rather than have to process the same FOI requests repeatedly.

The Environment Agency has published several online resources about the ongoing investigation into the Buncefield oil disaster of 11 December 2005:

Buncefield Investigation – a collection of the main reports.

Buncefield latest news

Last year I spoke to the Association of Journalism Educators about the importance of teaching students about the Freedom of Information Act. So I was pleased to receive an email from one of the lecturers at Sheffield University telling me how an FOI assignment for their investigative journalism module had led one student to the front page of the local newspaper.

Third-year journalism student Hannah Postles made an FOI request to Wakefield top security prison asking for a list of confiscated items. The answer she received was a surprising inventory of pornographic DVDs, mobile phones and newspaper cuttings about prison staff. Hannah suggested the story to the news editor of the Yorkshire Evening Post where she was doing work experience and it was splashed on the front page.

Hannah, 21, said: “When I took the information to the newsdesk I didn’t think in a million years it would make the front page splash. It was really exciting to see the information from my request develop into a real news story and even more exciting to see the finished story and my byline on the front page the next day.”

An account of the story is posted on Sheffied University’s Department of Journalism page.

This is a great example that should inspire more teachers to integrate the Act into their journalism courses.