2012 July

Work programme providers and FOI: contractual obligations to provide information

An annotation on an FOI request relating to the work programme is worth repeating in full – and quoting – for anyone else considering requesting information: The DWP Head of Work Programmes Division[1] wrote a memo to Minister for Employment on 24 April 2012 which stated: There are no “cost limits”[2] for Freedom of Information […]

Useful Olympic links for July 27th through July 29th

Here are the Olympic-related links we’ve been looking at over the last week from July 27th through July 29th: New Statesman – The Olympic spirit? – Arrestees were later released with stringent bail conditions, including a ban from cycling in … Continue reading

Cyclists arrested as the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony takes place, where are they this morning?

The morning after a pro-cycling group were prevented from taking their monthly London route news comes in of clashes with the Police. The London Critical Mass group of approximately one hundred fifty cyclists broke through the police cordons, in place … Continue reading

LOCOG loses track of Binstead’s Wheelz

Binstead and Martin, London Mini Marathon.  Jack Binstead (U14) and Collette Martin (U17) in the Wheelchairs Mini Marathon on 17 April 2011. Taken from Birdcage Walk by Snappa. For the book 8,000 Holes: How the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Lost … Continue reading

The data in full: Olympic torchbearers

It’s now two months since we first gathered data on Olympic torchbearers. In that time people have appeared on the list and then disappeared, appeared late, appeared without stories, or not appeared at all. Here is the data gathered across … Continue reading

Useful Olympic links for July 25th through July 27th

Here are the Olympic-related links we’ve been looking at over the last week from July 25th through July 27th: The Olympic Torch and how to game an eBay auction | The Albert Memorial is still there – Looking at the … Continue reading

Six questions to ask before you submit an FOI

David Higgerson suggests six questions that journalists can ask to improve the end results of a possible FOI request – or save you sending one entirely. they are:

Is this information available elsewhere?
Will they release the infor…

The experience of the torchbearer – and the executives who carried the Olympic torch on just one day – 8,000 Holes part 5

In the final part of the serialisation of Help Me Investigate’s first ebook – 8,000 Holes: How the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Lost its Way we look at how the story affected one inspirational individual who did carry the torch – and … Continue reading

New guidelines on the ‘FOI for environmental reporting’ – EIR

Cleland Thom provides another of his useful roundups on ‘right to know’ laws in the UK. This time it’s the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), a set of regulations which work in a similar way to the Freedom of Information Act, but …

Mystery torchbearers search hits halfway mark

The search to identify 500 torchbearers without stories has hit the 50% mark, thanks to dozens of people scouring the list of names to find records elsewhere. Among the names are well-known celebrities, sportspeople and individuals who have contributed to … Continue reading