⚖️ Understand your FOI rights - when exempt information can be disclosed in the public interest Learn how the balance is struck in CFOI's forthcoming FOI requester training course next week! Book here ⬇️ www.cfoi.org.uk/2025/10/usin...

Keynotes from the ICO and Scottish Information Commissioner! Discussions on what FOI has changed - and what comes next! Skills sessions! Lightning talks! FOI Fest schedule! www.mysociety.org/transparency... Sign up now for 19 Feb! Free! pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...

CFoIS Director Carole Ewart has written an opinion piece for Scottish Legal News about recent developments in Scotland’s FOI regime and the need for reform. Read the full article here: www.scottishlegal.com/articles/car... #FoISAReform25 #freedomofinformation #accesstoinformation #foi #ati

⚖️ Understand your FOI rights—and how to appeal! Many new requesters accept an FOI request’s refusal at face value. Some authorities count on this! Refusals are not the end of the process. Join our upcoming FOI Requester course to learn more. Booking link ⬇️ www.cfoi.org.uk/2025/10/usin...

📢The trial has begun for former NI council chief executive Anne Donaghy, charged with allegedly deleting emails to frustrate a Freedom of Information request Such FOI prosecutions are extremely rare given the difficulty in proving intent. www.newsletter.co.uk/news/courts/...

The clock is ticking on a Scottish Information Commissioner's Decision regarding the Scottish Government's compliance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. #FoISAReform25 #freedomofinformation #accesstoinformation #foi #ati

🔴NEW: The UK’s leading organic verification company is trying to dodge freedom of information law, in a case which could have important implications for transparency. Find out more: https://www.theferret.scot/organic-food-certification-scrutiny/

⚖️ Understand your FOI rights—and how to use them! Our next FOI requester training course on February 11th is aimed at newcomers and those who want to make more effective requests. You will have the opportunity to draft your own and get feedback on it. Book here ⬇️ www.cfoi.org.uk/foi-training/

Victims ditch hundreds of sex assault cases, Met Police has to admit. The Times had to fight a 3 year legal battle to force it to disclose a report into policing violence against women and girls, In the aftermath of the rape and murder of Sarah Everard. www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/art...

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...

CFoIS welcomes the publication of the Scottish Government’s consultation on extending FoI to the care sector. Find out more here: consult.gov.scot/communicatio... #FoISAReform25 #freedomofinformation #accesstoinformation #scotland #foi

📣Use FOI to improve your research, campaigning or journalism CFOI has been training FOI requesters for over 20 years Our next course will be online on 11/02/2026 This live, interactive session will illustrate why some requests succeed and others fail Booking link www.cfoi.org.uk/2025/10/usin...

"John Swinney has decided his government should make a court challenge against the Scottish Information Commissioner's decision to order the release of secret evidence given to the James Hamilton investigation into Nicola Sturgeon some five years ago."

Do you want the enforceable right 2 access info from private & third sector providers of care home & care at home services? Plz give ur views to the ScotGovt consultation launched today @unison.org.uk @unitescotland.bsky.social @rmtunion.bsky.social @nujscotland.bsky.social @fbunational.bsky.social

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)

📣Central Government Freedom of Information Bulletin Q3 2025-2026 Statistics for July-September 2025 show improved timeliness. www.gov.uk/government/s... #FOI #Informationrights #transparency #accountability

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.

Join the #FOI Network on Thursday 19th February 2026 for an all day celebration of the Act's achievements and the challenges which still lie ahead! "It is hoped that FOI Fest 2026 will be the seed out of which a wider FOI Network will grow." pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...

An #FOI from Norfolk County Council shows it handled 139 complaints about the England flags hung over the Summer. It also revealed the Council only removed one flag. This means that all the other flags which have since vanished from the streets were removed by members of the public.

Do you know what you should be proactively publishing by law? Is your Publication Scheme for for purpose? Find out in the next free eCase webinar with myself and Sarah Laws. 18th Dec 12 noon. #FOI #FreedomOfInformation #Transparency ecase.co.uk/events/

📣Less than a month now to submit your nominations!

Stormont intervenes to compensate victims of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s 2023 data breach Details remain confidential but a previously published PSNI estimate put the bill at over £100 million. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Veteran detective recounts extreme paranoia after the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) catastrophic 2023 data breach. Six compensation cases now underway at the High Court in Belfast. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #PSNI #informationrights #transparency #accountability

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

#FOI relies on proper record-keeping, so it's good questions are being asked of records management policies involving the sudden destruction of information. Requests that actually got information:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Scottish Government Ministers ordered to publish Nicola Sturgeon inquiry evidence - BBC News - 223 points in decision providing transparency on its complexity & explain ScotGovt’s poor handling of the case. ⁦‪@KatySClark‬⁩ ⁦‪@NUJScotland‬⁩ @unitescotland.bsky.social

The next SPIF meeting is just around the corner. The agenda includes a presentation from Felicitas Strickmann of FragDenStaat. Get a ticket now to avoid missing out! Tickets available here: www.eventbrite.com/e/scottish-p... #FoISAReform25 #freedomofinformation #humanrights #foi #event

🔴 NEW: Emails reveal that naval chiefs piled pressure on environment watchdog to hide details of radioactive contamination on the Clyde. Our latest: www.theferret.scot/navy-try-keep-nuclear-pollution-secret/

Government by WhatsApp The latest Covid Inquiry report criticises Ministerial use of informal communication channels during the pandemic. It says the practice has serious implications for govt decision-making, FOI, court proceedings and public inquiries.

Oops: MoD blunder reveals secret details of bomb project www.theferret.scot/mod-details-... from @theferret.scot #FOI #redaction #armstrade

📢FOI in the News! Rise in 'revenge evictions'? A total of 7,261 residents in nursing and residential homes were given a ‘notice to quit’ between August 2024 and September 2025, a Big Issue FOI request reveals. www.bigissue.com/news/housing... #BigIssue #elderlycare #accountabilitymatters

The FoI Reform Bill may run out of time before completing the 3 stage parliamentary process, according to the Minister for Parliamentary Business when speaking at today's annual FoI Conference. Lots of work to do by March 2026! @rmtunion.bsky.social @unitescotland.bsky.social

Influential biographer Andrew Lownie submitted hundreds of FOI requests whilst researching 'Entitled', his bestselling biography of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Hear Andrew describe the resistance that provoked in his fascinating conversation with Democracy for Sale. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJHa...

Former MPs working for lobbying firms have utilised their continued access to parliament on hundreds of occasions, with campaigners claiming there is a “high risk” it has been misused by some. www.thetimes.com/article/5d22...

📢FOI in the news! Online grooming crimes double since 2018 with victims now as young as four, according to NSPCC obtained FOI data. Instant messenger Snapchat used in 40% of the cases where a tech platform was identified. news.sky.com/story/online...

📢FOI in the news! “Historic neglect” of ADHD revealed by BBC FOI disclosures. Data shared by 59 services across England show increasing numbers forced to halt referrals. #NHSfunding #ADHD #informationrights #transparency www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thank you to @katysclark.bsky.social MSP for holding last night's roundtable at the Scottish Parliament on the FoI Reform (Scotland) Bill! The speeches and discussion provided a much needed opportunity to discuss the Bill's importance #FoISAReform25 #freedomofinformation #humanrights #scotland #foi

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'.

👑 Privacy of The Royal Household 👑 One of the FOI Act's most fascinating provisions, section 37 governs the boundaries of public interest within Britain's most discrete institution. If recent news has piqued your interest, see here for a refresher on where the law stands.

⚖️Working for a more open democracy⚖️ A big thank you to #AndySlaughter for facilitating last week's Freedom of Information training for MPs' staff in Parliament and to all those who participated. #FOItraining #righttoknow #opengovernment #accountabilitymatters

My next 4-week #FOI Practitioner Certificate starts on Nov 24th. Sign up now www.actnow.org.uk/booking/5047

Timely reminder of why passing the FoI Reform Bill matters to so many people in Scotland. @katysclark.bsky.social @unitescotland.bsky.social @cwuscotland.bsky.social @gabymckay.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news/2521506...

"Accountability remains almost completely absent. The VIP Lane has been ruled unlawful, but the Covid Inquiry hasn’t called in the companies that profited from it."

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

Exceptional work👏👏

🪧Black History Month & Freedom of Information 🪧 Black Londoners’ horror at treatment of Child Q. Successive FOIs uncovered scores of similar testimonies. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #blackhistorymonth #institutionalracism #informationrights

Thanks to the SNP TU Group for hosting the CFOIS leaflets explaining our all party campaign in support of the FoI Reform Bill currently at Stage 1 in the ScotParl. An opportunity 4 Scotland 2 lead the way by voting 4 progressive legal reform. @snp.org @graemedey.bsky.social @nujscotland.bsky.social

🚨Reminder: FOI Requester Training 🚨 In search of guidance on raising an FOI request? There is still time to sign up to our next 'Using the FOI Act' course for requesters. It will run on Thursday 16th October 2025. It's online and you can secure your space here: www.cfoi.org.uk/2025/08/usin...

📢FOI in the News! A record number of people in the UK died while homeless in 2024. A total of 1,611 homeless people died in the UK during the year, a 9% increase over 2023. The majority of deaths resulted from suicide or street drugs. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...