Scottish Government’s FoI failure exposed

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21 Jun 2017

Jamie Greene

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

Press release: Showcasing our cool kit at London Rivers Week

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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:

  • weed cutting boat
  • flood water pumps and aerators (in and by the river)
  • incident response vehicle, and
  • temporary flood barrier.

Members of the public can talk to staff and find out about the following activities:

  • monitoring the health of our rivers; trays of invertebrates will be on display
  • invasive species
  • pollution incidents
  • flood risk management; including how we work with communities to reduce flood risk, and
  • general information about our other activities and work with partners such as LVRPA (Lee Valley Regional Park Authority).

Other exciting events the Environment Agency is running during London Rivers Week include:

  • 4pm to 6pm Monday 26 June at Watling Park, Burnt Oak, HA8 0RF at the northern entrance off Abbots Road.
  • 12pm on Tuesday 27 June at the Strand on Kew Green.
  • 11:30am on Wednesday 28 June at the River Wandle, Merton High Street, Colliers Wood.

More details and a full list of events can be found on the official website.

Press release: Showcasing our cool kit at London Rivers Week

image_pdfimage_print

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:

  • weed cutting boat
  • flood water pumps and aerators (in and by the river)
  • incident response vehicle, and
  • temporary flood barrier.

Members of the public can talk to staff and find out about the following activities:

  • monitoring the health of our rivers; trays of invertebrates will be on display
  • invasive species
  • pollution incidents
  • flood risk management; including how we work with communities to reduce flood risk, and
  • general information about our other activities and work with partners such as LVRPA (Lee Valley Regional Park Authority).

Other exciting events the Environment Agency is running during London Rivers Week include:

  • 4pm to 6pm Monday 26 June at Watling Park, Burnt Oak, HA8 0RF at the northern entrance off Abbots Road.
  • 12pm on Tuesday 27 June at the Strand on Kew Green.
  • 11:30am on Wednesday 28 June at the River Wandle, Merton High Street, Colliers Wood.

More details and a full list of events can be found on the official website.

Press release: Showcasing our cool kit at London Rivers Week

image_pdfimage_print

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:

  • weed cutting boat
  • flood water pumps and aerators (in and by the river)
  • incident response vehicle, and
  • temporary flood barrier.

Members of the public can talk to staff and find out about the following activities:

  • monitoring the health of our rivers; trays of invertebrates will be on display
  • invasive species
  • pollution incidents
  • flood risk management; including how we work with communities to reduce flood risk, and
  • general information about our other activities and work with partners such as LVRPA (Lee Valley Regional Park Authority).

Other exciting events the Environment Agency is running during London Rivers Week include:

  • 4pm to 6pm Monday 26 June at Watling Park, Burnt Oak, HA8 0RF at the northern entrance off Abbots Road.
  • 12pm on Tuesday 27 June at the Strand on Kew Green.
  • 11:30am on Wednesday 28 June at the River Wandle, Merton High Street, Colliers Wood.

More details and a full list of events can be found on the official website.