freedom of information

FOI request refusals – staff names must be given, says Commissioner

Blog Now reports on an Information Commissioner ruling which stipulates that the names of staff refusing a request should be included in the response, despite one department’s attempts to withhold those. Alistair Sloan writes: “It described the DWP’s practice of not providing telephone numbers or contact details within its responses and how this makes it […]

Academies and the Freedom of Information Act

TweetThe number of academies in the UK is increasing by the month and their set-up can often be complex, with multiple parties involved in the running of the school, but the Freedom of Information Act provides a useful tool to … Continue reading

Hospital blunders investigated by Melanie Hall

Help Me Investigate user Melanie Hall has been using Freedom of Information requests to look at ‘hospital blunders’: serious untoward incidents (SUIs) and ‘never events’. She reports: “Surgeons operating on the wrong side of the body, swabs left inside patients after … Continue reading

Who to send an FOI request to if you want to know about your local clinical commissioning group

Following previous posts about how Freedom of Information requests are being handled during a period where responsibilities are passed from one part of the health service (primary care trusts) to another (clinical commissioning groups – CCGs), we’ve been working with the … Continue reading