Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee's report, while agreeing legislation is needed to update FOI regime in Scotland, recommends against advancing the current private members' bill digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/R...

For the first time the Scottish Info Commissioner @foi.scot has launched legal action against a public authority - the Scottish Government - for failing to comply with an FOI decision. www.foi.scot/statement-sc...

From today you can make a FOIA request to the Trump Presidential Library for records from Trump's first term of office - www.trumplibrary.gov/research/sub...

My quote in this important article:

Just under a month away! Join @mysociety.org and others (in London and online) for FOI FEST 2026 Keynotes, discussions, lightning talks, skills tasters Thursday 19 February Sign up here: pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...

Greenland: my archive research last year on how a century ago the UK briefly tried to assert an interest in the territory of Greenland but the Danes resisted - rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/no-britain...

For the first time a public authority has been found to be in contempt of court by the Upper Tribunal for failing to comply with a lower tribunal ruling about disclosure of information. Cornwall Council has been forced to apologise and pay £35K in legal costs to the requester.

FOI Fest is coming! A one-day conference about FOI's achievements and challenges in both policy and practice - Thurs, 19 Feb 2026, at Birkbeck College in central London (and also online). Sign up here - pretix.eu/mysociety/fo... - and see you there. If you're interested in FOI, this is for you.

Freedom of Information is all grown up - it turns 21 this year! Join us for a one day conference to celebrate, scrutinise, and share everything around #FOI in the UK: pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...

The ICO has published its decision in a high profile FOI case, backing the EHRC's refusal to disclose internal communications about its interim guidance after the UK Supreme Court judgment last April (which ruled that the meaning of "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 is biological)

In Scotland the consultation exercise has opened on whether FOI should be extended to the care homes and 'care at home' services run by private businesses and charities/third sector - you can comment here: www.gov.scot/publications...

Greenland: my archive research last year on how a century ago the UK briefly tried to assert an interest in the territory of Greenland but the Danes resisted - rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/no-britain...

Newly declassified documents reveal how Tony Blair quickly regretted the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act - my article for the Telegraph today: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...

New releases from the National Archives of government records from 2005 show how ministers and officials reacted uneasily to the implementation of FOI, and how they handled some initial cases - "This is becoming a real problem". What I found in the files: rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/tony-we-ha...

I thought this was the most striking point - depressing but entirely plausible as pragmatic advice. (The whole piece is good and worth reading).

The government says it's not planning to extend FOI to cover Electoral Returning Officers. However, the forthcoming elections legislation will be a good opportunity to raise this issue further and for someone to propose an amendment to change this.

Latest quarterly FOI statistics out today show a big increase in FOI requests to UK central govt departments - this is my chart going back to 2005 based on the official figures

The ICO has issued an enforcement notice against the FCDO because of its persistently "unacceptable" delays in processing FOI requests and its failure to improve properly, despite the ICO's previous more limited interventions. Good - the FCDO's track record on FOI is terrible.

FOI Fest is coming! A one-day conference about FOI's achievements and challenges in both policy and practice - Thurs, 19 Feb 2026, at Birkbeck College in central London (and also online). Sign up here - pretix.eu/mysociety/fo... - and see you there. If you're interested in FOI, this is for you.

The Covid Inquiry revealed how the use of chat apps in gov't created an unprecedented document trail, along with a temptation to avoid record keeping or to lose/delete records. By @benworthy.bsky.social & me, for @politicalquarterly.bsky.social - thepoliticalquarterly.substack.com/p/government...

The Covid Inquiry revealed how the use of chat apps in gov't created an unprecedented document trail, along with a temptation to avoid record keeping or to lose/delete records. By @benworthy.bsky.social & me, for @politicalquarterly.bsky.social - thepoliticalquarterly.substack.com/p/government...

There's an interesting point in this on how automatic transcription of video calls creates more information subject potentially to FOI. While the article presents this as a problem for public bodies, it is equally an opportunity for FOI requesters. www.careful.industries/blog/2025-11...

How much has the Cabinet Office spent in the last year on legal advice in FOI cases where initial refusals were later overturned? - asks @jimmcmahon.co.uk. We're not going to tell you - replies the minister, @chriswardmp.bsky.social.

Read the published responses to the SPPA Committee's consultation on the Bill here: yourviews.parliament.scot/sppa/freedom...

In the Commons yesterday, Tory frontbencher Caroline Johnson initiated a debate on government transparency and accountability - including on the pincer movement sometimes needed using both written PQs and FOI to extract answers (the reply from the minister Chris Ward did not engage with this point)

UK politics followers, these graphs are in a paper by @jamesdgriffiths.bsky.social and co (inc. me). There's so much useful info in them. The long-term context for the politics of our time, how the 'Brexit elections' differed, though note the Y axes may need to be bigger for the next election!!

Standing offer: if you maintain the LLPG at a UK council and think the address records are Authority Owned Data rather than Supplied Data (iykyk), email me at [email protected]. I will try to unlock the address data legally using FOI + RPSI regs, and forget your name. #opendata #openaddresses

How a recent Scottish council by-election became a natural experiment for assessing the potential extent of anti-Reform tactical voting - rosenbaum6.substack.com

How a recent Scottish council by-election became a natural experiment for assessing the potential extent of anti-Reform tactical voting - rosenbaum6.substack.com

Some lessons from last week's by-election in Scotland's most southerly council ward for the potential of anti-Reform tactical voting - rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/will-the-l...

What the Hallett Covid inquiry report says about use of private communication channels (eg WhatsApp) & impact on govt record-keeping: it is likely to 'undermine external scrutiny of decision-making, transparency and public accountability' and impede responses to FOI requests.

Classic redaction error ... just copy and paste the 'redacted' text, and hey presto!

A challenge to pollsters as well as to academic researchers ...

Come along to my talk 'Does Transparency Make for Better Politics?' 25 November 2025, 13:00 — 14:00 (online) www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event...

Here's a recording, if you're interested, of myself and the ICO's Director of FOI Warren Seddon discussing 20 years of FOI in the UK and its impact (from the ICO's annual conference a couple of weeks ago) - ico.org.uk/about-the-ic...

Very interesting interview, with Andrew Lownie outlining some of the obstacles placed in his way, as he tried to bring more scrutiny and transparency to royal activities

The ICO is investigating claims that on the same day that an FOI tribunal ordered Fermanagh & Omagh Council to disclose inspection reports for two dog breeders, the council destroyed eight years' worth of similar information about other dog breeding premises. The ICO is 'surprised and concerned'.

FOI requesters often feel frustrated when getting answers like 'under 5' instead of actual numbers - but this isn't allowed unless the individuals involved are actually identifiable. See this recent ICO decision: ico.org.uk/media2/o0rgv... (h/t Tim Turner)

ONS has launched a consultation exercise on which topics are to be included in the next census ... consultations.ons.gov.uk/census/censu...

Many large public bodies do not publish the FOI statistics required by the Cabinet Office Code of Practice. The ICO has now started taking action over this - it's just issued eight practice recommendations to departments in the Northern Ireland Executive.

New on TheyWorkForYou: better ways of managing email alerts

Join CFoIS and Human Rights Consortium for a FoISA Reform Bill Update Event on November the 19th. Tickets are available to book via Eventbrite now: www.eventbrite.com/e/1759810012... #FoISAReform25 #freedomofinformation #humanrights #event #foi

Transport for London official (discussing whether to publish research about impact of LTNs commissioned from Uni of Westminster) writes "this stuff is FOI-able ... we may be forced to publish" - but actually they didn't, and it has indeed been FOI'd

I also looked at what the latest @britishelectionstudy.com data tells us about the leisure activities of different party supporters, and this was the most striking comparison - Reform voters are much less likely to get their news from the BBC rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/politics-p...

What are the links between personality and party support? I've examined the latest @britishelectionstudy.com data for the most recent evidence .... rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/politics-p...

What are the links between personality and party support? I've examined the latest @britishelectionstudy.com data for the most recent evidence .... rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/politics-p...

Reminder: On Tues 14 Oct, I'm talking to the ICO's Director of FOI Warren Seddon abut 20 years of FOI, as part of the ICO's annual online event - anyone can register via here: ico.org.uk/about-the-ic...

I'm taking part in an online discussion about 20 years of FOI with the ICO's Director of FOI, Warren Seddon, as part of the ICO's annual online conference (DPPC 2025) on Tues 14 Oct - open to anyone, you can sign up at ico.org.uk/about-the-ic...

This is a fascinating article, full of detail, for anyone interested in access to government records and processes for their preservation

Lots of very interesting detail in this ...