23rd November 2015
Following the closure of its call for evidence on Friday, the FOI Commission has published an update on gov.uk: Update from Lord Burns, Chairman of the Commission “I wanted to provide a short update on the work of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information now that the call for evidence has closed.” “The Commission…
20th November 2015
Over 100 civil society organisations, ranging from national NGOs, to local community groups, and open government campaigners, to health, environment and transport charities, have signed the UK Open Government Network’s evidence to the FOI Commission, stating their support for a strong right to information : ‘We regard the Freedom of Information Act as a fundamental pillar of…
16th November 2015
The UK Open Government Network is currently collecting signatories to its evidence to the FOI Commission. To sign, please contact [email protected] with your name, position and organisation.
10th November 2015
Over 26 – 28 October 2015, a number of members of the Open Government Network and the UK government attended the Open Government Partnership Summit in Mexico City. The summit provided a lot of food for thought and provoked some useful reflections from the open government community. Apart from some great sessions, the community used…
2nd November 2015
The UK Government published the following press release from last week’s OGP Summit in Mexico City. The Summit was attended by Lord Francis Maude (Minister of State for Trade and Investment, previously Minister for the Cabinet Office) and Sir Eric Pickles (Anti-corruption Champion), along with a number of senior officials. UK government leads the way in…
27th October 2015
Open Government Network member, OpenCorporates, has released a new paper outlining how open company data was used to uncover the powerful elite benefiting from Myanmar’s multi-billion dollar jade industry. Today, we’re pleased to release a white paper on how OpenCorporates data was used to uncover the powerful elite benefiting from Myanmar’s multi-billion dollar jade industry, in a…
22nd October 2015
The Scottish Government, along with Northern Ireland and Wales, have agreed to make commitments in the UK’s new OGP Action plan. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is therefore working with support from the UK Open Government Civil Society Coordinator to coordinate Scottish civil society input to the OGP plan and build the momentum around OGP action in…
15th October 2015
The Campaign for Freedom of Information and ARTICLE 19 are holding a briefing meeting for NGOs and media organisations on the consultation paper published by the Commission on Freedom of Information. The consultation suggests the Commission is considering sweeping changes to restrict the FOI Act, including: imposing charges for requests making it easier to refuse…
12th October 2015
In August, members of the UK Open Government Network wrote to Matthew Hancock, Minister for the Cabinet Office, to express concern at recent developments that threaten the Freedom of Information Act. Last week we received the following response from the Minister:
9th October 2015
The Commission on Freedom of Information, established by the Government in July 2015, has launched its call for evidence. In August, the Open Government Network wrote to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Matthew Hancock, expressing our concern with the Commission’s remit. The Commission states that it will be particularly focused on the following questions: Question 1:…