doomscroll break

Lots of councils getting #FOI requests for their meeting catering bills, although those attending the meetings might not be getting much in the way of refreshments:

We’re all about Freedom of Information successes here. It makes a change as usually getting an FOI answered, particularly from central government, can feel like an uphill struggle...

An FOI seen by QueerAF shows the anti-trans organisation included in a consultation that led to RSE guidance that will introduce what has been widely described as a 'Section 28 2.0' https://www.wearequeeraf.com/section-28-2-0-rse-consultation-featured-four-explicitly-anti-trans-groups-foi-reveals

A full inspection of the pub, released through #FOI, revealed gnawed carpet in the seating and stair area and a hole in the stairway skirting board, large enough for a rodent to pass though.

poll: is sponsored by company with a vested interest in results and which is clearly using survey as a promotional tool writeup: does not link to toplines no info on question wording no methods info confuses "percentage" and "percentage point"

Amazed this is still going ahead - basic and obvious problem is that essentially everything local government does now is for the poor. You can’t move it around without really hurting poor people somewhere!

How much? is a classic #FOI request. Turns out squeezing an extra 36 politicians into the Welsh Parliament is costlier than previously revealed:

Bins provoke surprisingly strong feelings.  And in York, multiple #FOI requests:

People using #FOI usually have a reason for making a request (like residents, campaigners, charities & journalists) But that doesn't mean public bodies should change approach depending on who asks: 

As a local government journalist of many years I could have easily told these plonkers that there is nowhere left to cut in local government. Actually anyone could have told them that.

So many #FOI requests about the amount of money generated by speeding fines. So it makes a change to have one about speed cameras not catching anyone speeding:

£13m in overtime costs for police having to go to court on their days off is probably more annoying when they turn up to discover the accused has pled guilty or the case adjourned.

🆕️🚨 After painstaking research, dozens of FOIs and months of analysis we release the Gender Clinic Files which reveal waiting times for every GIC in the country. They lay bare, how far off the mark the Health Secretary's estimation of the average wait is 👇 www.wearequeeraf.com/gender-clini...

FOI is great (and here's lots of examples: https://clairemiller.net/2025/10/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-3-10-2025-foifriday/) But when you're tracking Gov't progress on manifesto pledges, you may rather not have to resort to using it.

If ‘the real value of FOI is in the pages of local newspapers’, this week is a bonanza It's got a wheelie bin roll-out, a parking protest, rats in a pub, and, for once, speed cameras catching no one

This article manages to name her husband before it names… her.

Scottish public bodies have been warned not to take #FOI court action they are likely to lose…advice that could probably apply more widely. FOI stories that mostly avoided this this week...

📢 Have your say! The Scottish Parliament is scrutinising the FOI Reform Bill, and they need your views – should authorities pause deadlines for clarification? Should the First Minister have a veto? Submit your views by 22 October 2025 👇 tinyurl.com/FOIReform

If scrapping indefinite leave to remain (ILR) entirely, as Reform would do, is racist, according to Labour, what is making ILR twice as difficult, expensive & humiliating to obtain, as Labour are doing?

If ‘the real value of FOI is in the pages of local newspapers’...  

"Politics has not become more statist. You're just in denial about being older!" - is I think just a pretty accurate read on where the UK political class is, whether the 'you' is closer to home or the country as a whole.

Welfare spending is 10.8% as a proportion of GDP and was 10% in 2001. (And the increase is nearly all pensions). Apparently it's now out of control. It's just absolutely bog standard right wing paper talking points.

And all of that extra has gone to the NHS. Where costs are increasing at the same rate as other developed countries due to better treatments and aging populations. It's just wrong.

It’s only taken five years but someone’s finally found Anton a 3 paddle. #Strictly (This seems a notably lower scoring opening show, which, as I’m not sure the standard is much lower than usual, might be an attempt to get the ever inflating scores back under control).

The EIR provide a stronger right to information than the Freedom of Information Act. There is no ministerial veto over decisions, time limits for disclosure are tighter and a wider range of disclosures can be ordered on public interest grounds.

📢FOI in the News! The government is considering leaving the Aarhus Convention, which allows groups to judicially review environmentally damaging proposals without massive costs if they lose. www.theguardian.com/politics/202... #Aarhus #EIR #informationrights #transparency

I don't have an issue with identity cards as a category. Some of my concerns about this particular announcement here www.careful.industries/blog/2025-9-...

Govt are introducing a new programme that will cost hundreds of millions of pounds that wasn't in the manifesto, that will clearly make no difference to immigration. In a democracy, we should be able to scrutinise these decisions and how our money is spent. That's not being fearful.

Being annoyed is a good starting place for an #FOI. And that’s how I ended up in a months-long ‘FOI row’ with Cardiff Bus - I got stuck waiting for lost or cancelled bus & wanted to know more...

Usually #FOI requests about driving fines are straightforward. This one (a refusal, an internal review, still no answer) on fines on a road in Romford seems like it still has more to go.

Need a response in a particular format? Let the authority know – they should try to accommodate your preference. If you're comparing responses or gathering data, electronic formats can be easier to manage. #FOI20 #Scotland

#FOI can be an indirect route to more information about a story. When more than 20 people fell ill at a conference, it led to a council environmental health investigation:

lmao. see, people hate on "defund the police" because both political parties dragged it, but they still support what it actually means

This isn't technically an #FOI but its usually in the same part of the website. Police thanked with Welsh cakes, slightly out of date mince pies, very out of date cookies (disposed of at station):

Spot an issue (struggling to find a disabled parking space), use #FOI to see how much of a problem it is:

It just straightforwardly *insane* how much political chatter in the United Kingdom is about the next general election, an event that is a long way in the future, and how basically none of it is about 'uh, this policy agenda doesn't look adequate to the scale of the inherited problem'.

Got views on the #FOI Act in Scotland?  Lots of potential changes to the Act have been proposed and now they want to hear from requesters, bodies covered and anyone else with an interest:

Adding context to the figures you get from #FOI is often helpful for getting a better understanding of what they mean. 16,000 is a lot of cars caught speeding...but what if it's a busy road?

Potholes, and everything related to them, are the classic #FOI story. So a pothole saga that's been going for two years already is a gift:

As mentioned in this week’s #FOI Friday blog, the Scottish Parliament is looking for views on the Bill to update the FOI Act (lots of potential changes to comment on).

An #FOI refusal seems to have contributed to various tensions boiling over with a Basildon Council meeting cut short and an alleged assault on a council officer:

Thia week's #FOI (and FOI-adjacent) stories: (yes, there's potholes)

"Well what a huge surprise" - no woman, ever

The Australian Government is planning to expand charging for #FOI requests. There's a couple of ways to fight back: fundraising or a freedom of information concierge service called FOI-4-U

The power of #FOI is you can ask for whatever information you want (you might not always get it). It's great for follow-ups – to official data or to another FOI.

Almost 900 fewer people have been injured on Welsh roads since the default speed limit was lowered from 30 to 20mph two years ago Casualties on 20 to 30mph roads between July and September 2024 were the lowest for the three month-period since records began in 1979 👏 Evidence-led policy

What about when #FOI doesn't work? @schoolsweek.bsky.social investigated school lockdowns and got figures from just 18 local authorities. So they swapped to looking through news reports.

A... remarkable new @walesgovernance.bsky.social ITV Wales @yougov.co.uk poll of Welsh voting intentions for the next Senedd election (changes since May) - Plaid 30% (-) - Reform 29% (+4) - Labour 14% (-4) - Cons 11% (-2) - Lib Dems 6% (-1) - Green 6% (+1) - Other 4% (+2) #Senedd #devolution

imagine getting qt dunked by ed davey. unrecoverable. you’re furious and he is serenely going down a log flume in bognor regis.