Information Rights News
Coroners and Justice Act received Royal Assent in November 2009 and gives new powers to the Information Commissioner by amending the Data Protection Act 1998.
- Powers to issue deadlines under Information Notices
- Powers to have a single code of practice
- Powers to make staff of organisations provide information where the organisation has a warrent issued
- Power to carry out assessments in Government Departments without invitation.
- Power to extend this by order to other public bodies
Increase the fee for notification by larger organisations from £35 to £500
New fines of up to £500,000 available to the ICO from April 6th 2010
- New ICO Guidance out on valid names and addresses under FOI (See ICO web site)
- There is also guidance out this year on Pseudnyms ( Basically they are not acceptable in then ICO's view). This probably follows the case at the Welsh Audit Office and 'Colwyn Resident'
- EIR Decision notices and Tribunal decisions now available on the DEFRA website
- It is difficult to identify EIR specific notices on the ICO site so DEFRA have an easy read available.
- DEFRA has issued some new guidance on EIR and publication schemes. This is available through the NAIM web site.
- There is new legilslation relating to Land Charges. Land charges information has recently been subject to requests under EIRas researchers only want some of the information rather than all of it. Most Authorities have refused the information as it is already available (regulation 6 ) but the new charges allow Authorities to charge for parts rather than the whole data which should satisfy the enquirers.Ther have been both Court decisions and Tribunal decisions on this which have not made the situation any cleareer. The Ministry of Justice have announced that they will be bringing in new legislation with the DCLG to make it clearer.
- The Queens speech in 2010 has announced some changes to FOI, RIPA and CCTV. although worded in very general terms. As new legislation is announced this will be made available
