@clairemiller@mstdn.social
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clairemiller

@clairemiller@mstdn.social

I’m an award winning investigative #datajournalist with more than a decade's experience of using #data skills to dig out data, find stories, and create #visualisations.

I've grappled with thousands of #spreadsheets and #datasets in search of stories. Then found lots of quicker techniques and formulas to speed that up.

I am also an enthusiastic sender of #FreedomOfInformation requests. I've doggedly pursued access to #FOI information I need, up to winning against the ICO in court.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

clairemiller, to random
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is back (after a very long summer break)

http://clairemiller.net/2024/01/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-5-1-2024-foifriday/

Xmas & New Year is a great time for requests as you get stories in the bag for when news & journalists are thin on the ground. Here's a thread of some good examples you can save for next year...

clairemiller, to random
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

You sent off an request. And you've got an answer!

But then when you come to write the story, suddenly the public body is disputing what it sent you

This happens depressingly often with FOI...

More on this & successful FOI stories in thread & here: https://clairemiller.net/2024/02/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-9-2-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to journalism
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

Porn noises on Match of the Day? Yes, there's an for that.

The BBC is subject to the Act (though it has extra exemptions) so when the Metro wanted to know more about this incident, there was an option to ask.

What else is being found out this week: https://clairemiller.net/blog/2023/06/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-16-6-2023-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
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The power of requests is you can ask for whatever information you want (you might not always get it).

The first two stories this week feature FOI used for follow-ups - to official data or to another FOI...

https://clairemiller.net/2024/02/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-23-2-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
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Slightly obsessed with the optical illusion cycle path (it’s a gift of a local news story).

But it’s a good example of using to find and follow up stories - now looking at what happened to personal injury claims.

The rest of this week’s FOI stories: https://clairemiller.net/2024/05/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-3-5-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

Reminder to make 2024 the year you challenge some unreasonable-looking refusals.

This week's has a success and two requests that are heading for challenges, plus FOIs making the news this week.

[A thread]

http://clairemiller.net/2024/01/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-12-1-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
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The theme of this week's is the use of to reveal poor and/or illegal behaviour.

FOI can be a really powerful tool for bringing things to light (particularly the extent of them).

Read the latest post:

https://clairemiller.net/2024/02/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-2-2-2024-foifriday/

or some highlights in this thread.

clairemiller, to random
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Public bodies sometimes seem to forget is often it's less embarrassing - and cheaper - to hand over information from rather than try to sustain weak exemption arguments.

This reminder and more in this week's : https://clairemiller.net/2024/01/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-19-1-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

Getting an answer - any answer - to your isn't always easy. And it might be getting harder.

Figures for both Scotland and the rest of the UK suggest few get everything they ask for.

So which stories saw success with their FOI request this week...

https://clairemiller.net/2024/02/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-16-2-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
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successes for this week:

The Echo has won a victory in its battle to reveal which Liverpool councillors haven't paid their council tax

The optical illusion cycle path is no more.

And lots of people are using FOI to get other great stories...

https://clairemiller.net/2024/04/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-5-4-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
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With falling response rates from central Government and patchy responses from Oxford colleges, it's perhaps not been a great week for .

However, some people did successfully get a response, if this week's FOI Friday is anything to go by.

https://clairemiller.net/2024/04/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-26-4-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
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There seems to be somewhat of a theme to this week's .

It might not be surprising, a lot of these are classic requests...

https://clairemiller.net/2024/03/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-1-3-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
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Love to see those tasked with enforcing Freedom of Information law, turn out to not be too keen on law.

Scotland’s newly-appointed commissioner has run into criticism, the Ferret reports, because he previously accused the media of FOI “abuse” to produce “crud” about the police, and suggested reforming the law.

So who's been "abusing" FOI to produce "crud" this week (by which we mean using it as a vital reporting tool)? https://clairemiller.net/blog/2023/07/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-7-7-2023-foifriday/

[Thread]

clairemiller, to random
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Even in a quiet-ish week, there will still be potholes.

This week's FOI Friday: https://clairemiller.net/2024/05/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-10-5-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller, to random
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

We are now just under six weeks out from a general election.

Which means you just about have time to get in a request and get the information back before polling day.

In the meantime, the stories making the news as we head into the campaign: https://clairemiller.net/2024/05/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-24-5-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

Always worth using to get the full food hygiene report for places with poor ratings.

Especially for notable establishments (celebrity chef, local football club, that takeaway everyone goes to on a night out).

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/gino-dacampos-liverpool-restaurant-trouble-29221796

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

Bradford district has the highest proportion of disqualified drivers in the UK, reveals.

One in every 191 drivers in the district is currently banned from getting behind the wheel. This compares to an average of one in 431 across the UK.

https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/24338403.district-highest-banned-driver-rate-uk-figures-show/

clairemiller,
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Stay informed about #FOI news and tips by following the blog: https://clairemiller.net/blog/

Or by signing up for my newsletter: https://clairemiller.net/blog/#newsletter

clairemiller, to random
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

If you're thinking of a pre-election request (29 working days to go), does the pre-election period of sensitivity affect FOI requests?

Well, it shouldn't

https://clairemiller.net/2024/05/does-the-pre-election-period-affect-freedom-of-information-requests/

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

What's the pre-election period (it starts at 00:01 tonight and runs till polling day).

During this period, ministers, civil servants & local gov't should avoid acting in a way that could be perceived as spending public money to influence the election.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05262/

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

However, one thing they definitely can do is answer requests:
"Requests for factual information or freedom of information requests should be dealt with in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05262/SN05262.pdf

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

The asked for information about unpaid non-domestic rates.

York Council said it couldn’t release it as “it could affect public support for a particular party”, & it was prohibited from releasing the information by the pre-election period.

https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2018/2259827/fs50730008.pdf

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

As anyone who puts in requests knows, just because a public body is supposed to be doing something, doesn’t mean it will.

The ICO has had to issue a Decision Notice for using the pre-election period as a reason to refuse a request (useful if you run into something similar)

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

The council had also argued the requester was an active member of a political party and the information related to an ongoing campaign around non-domestic rates.

The Commissioner said that wasn't relevant.

So, requests can carry on as normal as we head towards the election

https://clairemiller.net/2024/05/does-the-pre-election-period-affect-freedom-of-information-requests/

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

ICO said prohibition on publication relates to material that is published by, or on behalf of, a local authority.

Information released under is published on a statutory basis so can't be "interpreted to be the same as the publication of material by the council itself".

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