Freedom of Information under threat.

[Julian Tait]

Many people in the Open Data Manchester community might already know of the partisan review that is being undertaken at the moment by government into the scope of FOIA.

It is a review that seeks to diminish the scope of FOI requests, potentially create a charging system for them as well. Freedom of Information and open data are intrinsically linked. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides a statutory pressure on accountable organisations to supply information and data to those that need it.

Open Data Manchester is a signatory along with 139 other organisations, to a letter presented to David Cameron outlining concerns about the partisan nature of the review

Campaign for Freedom of Information are collecting examples of requests that have had positive outcomes - perhaps a story that has helped create community action, or data that has allowed a decision or policy to be successfully challenged. This dossier will help provide an evidence base as to why the FOIA is so important.

If you have any examples please click on this link #saveFOI and help save the Freedom of Information Act as we know it.

Cheers

Julian