Jun212017
All States/UTs except the State of Jammu & Kashmir, approves the State GST Act and are ready for the smooth roll-out of GST with effect from 1st July, 2017.
Jun212017
The Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said here that Yoga Day
Jun212017
A MOU on the India-Russia unified technology assessment and accelerated commercialization programme, was concluded in Moscow in 20th June 2017, by the Secretary, Department of Science & Technology (DST)
Jun212017
21 Jun 2017
The Scottish Government’s response rate for Freedom of Information requests is well below the national average, it has been revealed.
Research by the Scottish Conservatives has found that, of all FoI requests dealt with by ministers in the last year, barely a third resulted in a “full disclosure”.
That’s considerably lower than the overall rate for all Scottish public sector bodies, which stands at 57 per cent cent.
The figures come amid growing pressure on the Scottish Government over its record of transparency.
Earlier this month journalists wrote an open letter raising fears about the FoI performance of the Scottish Government.
And tomorrow, the Scottish Conservatives will raise the issue as part of their party business at Holyrood.
They will cite figures exposing ministers’ worsening performance on responding to FoI submissions.
Between 2016 and 2017, the Scottish Government received 2310 requests, but only responded in full to 879 of them – 38 per cent.
In contrast, all public bodies – including councils and health boards – received 81,641 requests, issuing full responses for 46,486, a total of 56.9 per cent.
Response times at the Scottish Government were also worse than average, with 21.6 per cent coming late, compared to 9.6 per cent nationally.
Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene said:
“These figures prove that the SNP government is paying lip service to the idea of transparency.
“In its place, we see a culture of secrecy where the first instinct is to sweep legitimate requests for information under the carpet.
“These figures will add to the growing question marks over the politicisation of the Scottish Government under the SNP.
“The fact is that Nicola Sturgeon’s control freak government has lost the trust of many Scots.
“We need ministers to show some humility for once, accept there needs to be a root and branch change in their working practices, and deliver the kind of open government that people want and deserve.”
For the full tables of statistics, visit:
http://www.scottishconservatives.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Scotland-FOI-2016-17.xlsx
Earlier this month, journalists expressed their FoI concerns in an open letter:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-40120002
Jun212017
On Tuesday 27 June from 12pm to 3pm at Walthamstow Marshes, near Springfield Marina, the Environment Agency will be showcasing their cool kit and little critters as part of London Rivers Week.
London Rivers Week is running again this year with Catchment Partnerships and environmental organisations such as Thames21, ZSL, London Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency and the South East Rivers Trust, putting on public events, walks and talks at special river sites.
Amanda MacLean, Catchment Co-ordinator at the Environment Agency, said:
We are very excited to be showcasing our work at the London Rivers Week this year on the 27 June. Over the last 20 years the Environment Agency has made big steps to improve the quality of water in rivers. Please do come along to find out about the wide variety of ways in which we work to create a better place for people and the environment. We’re bringing lots of our cool kit for you to see.
The Environment Agency will have demonstrations of flood risk management equipment, including their:
Members of the public can talk to staff and find out about the following activities:
Other exciting events the Environment Agency is running during London Rivers Week include:
More details and a full list of events can be found on the official website.