The document discusses the history and future of freedom of information laws in the UK. It provides context on how Labour pledged to introduce FOI laws in 1997 and how the act finally came into force in 2005. It also notes that the government later set up a commission to potentially introduce changes to weaken the act, which was criticized. The rest of the document provides tips for journalists on utilizing FOI requests, including being specific, considering exemptions, and using the data obtained as one part of further reporting.

1. Freedom of information for journalists
David Ottewell
Head of Data Journalism
Trinity Mirror
@davidottewell

2. History of the act
Labour policy pledge ahead of the 1997 election
Came into force in 2005
Brought the UK into line with other countries
More than 90 nations have Freedom of Information laws
These countries include Zimbabwe and China
FoI Act itself only part of a package of measures

3. History of the act
“Labour is committed to the democratic renewal of our
country through decentralisation and the elimination of
excessive government secrecy. We are pledged to a
Freedom of Information Act, leading to more open
government.”
Tony Blair, 1997

4. History of the act
“Freedom of information. Three harmless words. I look at
the words as I write them and feel like shaking my head
until it drops off my shoulders. You idiot. You naive, foolish,
irresponsible nincompoop.”
Tony Blair, 2010

5. The future
A post-legislative scrutiny report in 2012 found that the
Freedom of Information Act was a ‘significant enhancement
of our democracy’. Criticism of public bodies, including
unfair or partial criticism, was ‘a price well worth paying for
the benefits that greater openness brings’.

6. The future
Despite this, the government set up a commission to look at
the Freedom of Information Act anew. The changes they are
looking at include introducing charges for certain requests,
and allowing cabinet ministers to have a veto on the
publication of sensitive information. David Davis has called
the review a ‘stitch-up’. Members of the commission
include Jack Straw, who has called FoI a mistake, and
Michael Howard.

7. Freedom of information in action

8. Freedom of information in action

9. Freedom of information in action

10. Freedom of information in action

11. Freedom of information in action

12. Freedom of information in action

13. The basics
The act is purpose-blind and applicant blind
The act is free (but they can charge over the cost limit)
Covers all public bodies
Covers ‘semi-public’ bodies, e.g. Channel 4
Covers e.g. dentists insofar as they do NHS work
FoI officers have a legal duty to assist you
Cost limit: 24 hours’ work (central), 18 hours’ work (other)

14. The basics
Be aware of the scope of the act
It covers government departments, police, councils, health
bodies and universities but there are also a huge number of
other organisations and quangos
These include, inter alia, The Royal Mint, The Tate Gallery,
The Civil Aviation Authority, The Bank of England, The
Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites…

15. The basics
Requests should:
Be in writing (email or letter)
Be in your real name
Include a contact address
Specify the format in which you want the data

16. The basics
An authority has 20 working days to respond
They can say they need to run a public-interest test
This has no specific deadline
If request refused you must first ask for an internal review
This has no specific deadline
Only then can you appeal to the Information Commissioner
Guess what? This has no specific deadline

17. Exemptions
There are EIGHT absolute exemptions
These do not require a public-interest test
Obtainable by other means (s21)
Personal information; for self, use DPA (s40)
Information provided in confidence (s41)
Bodies dealing with security matters (s23)

18. Exemptions
There are FIFTEEN qualified exemptions
These require a public-interest test
Prevention or detection of crime (s31)
Formulation of government policy (s35)
Effective conduct of public affairs (s36)
Commercial interests of a third party (s43)
Material intended for future publication (s22)

19. Tip 1 - be ridiculously precise
Define vague terms and leave nothing to interpretation
Specify an exact timescale

20. Tip 1 - be ridiculously precise

21. Tip 1 - be ridiculously precise

22. Tip 1 - be ridiculously precise

23. Tip 2 - give an ideal answer format
Including a ‘dummy answer’ will help you get exactly what
you want and compare across authorities

24. Tip 3 - consider ‘staging’ requests
Save time by giving a maximal and minimal version - but
always be clear you want as much information as possible

25. Tip 3 - consider ‘staging’ requests

26. Tip 4 - work with the exemptions
You won’t get the names and full addresses of people who
called the fire brigade; you might get the town or city, or
even the street
You won’t get the names of police officers suspended for
alleged racism; you might get their rank, division, and sex

27. Tip 4 - work with the exemptions

28. Tip 5 - know what you are looking for
Do councils record ‘pub closures’? No. Do they record
change of planning use? Yes
Which meetings have taken place and are likely to be
minuted?
Are emails stored by an organisation? For how long?

29. Tip 5 - know what you are looking for

30. Tip 6 - if it’s data, ask for a spreadsheet

31. Tip 6 - if it’s data, ask for a spreadsheet

32. Tip 7 - the FoI officer is not the enemy
They have a legal obligation to help you
But they are only human!
Most take their responsibility to help seriously
They have legitimate frustrations about the way journalists
phrase their FoI requests
Treat them like a human being - like any other contact - and
they are likely to be much more helpful

33. Tip 8 - don’t be lazy
Check whether the information is available without FoI
You might get even more than you were planning for
Knowing what is out there will help you phrase a request
Good data sourcing skills are increasingly vital

34. Tip 9 - be creative
Try to think of genuinely original FoI requests; some are
becoming cliched (the least borrowed library book)
Consider asking for memos, minutes, reports,
correspondence and documents as well as just numbers

35. Tip 9 - be creative

36. Tip 9 - be creative

37. Tip 9 - be creative

38. Tip 9 - be creative

39. Tip 10 - FoI is often just another source
It doesn’t make you an investigative genius
Don’t imply the information was being kept from the public
deliberately if it wasn’t
Avoid ‘revealed under freedom of information act’ intros -
they have long since become cliched

40. Tip 11 - FoI can be just the start
Getting material from freedom of information laws doesn’t
exempt you from the hard journalistic yards
You need context and analysis
Many issues only come alive with case studies, expert
commentary and other ‘human interest’ basics

41. Tip 11 - FoI can be just the start

42. Tip 11 - FoI can be just the start

43. Tip 12 - Think big
Freedom of information requests don’t have to just be
about the next day’s headlines
You can also gather sufficient data for projects and specials

44. Tip 12 - think big

45. Tip 12 - think big