Since the Freedom of Information Law came into effect on 5 January. 2009, public authorities have received more than 1800 requests for access to Government records. Statistical information extracted from JADE, a request tracking system developed by the Computer Services Department, shows that half of requests were either fully or partially granted.
The FOI Law provides the public with a general right to access records held by government. This is balanced against a legitimate need for government to exempt certain information. The law sets out a number of exclusions and exemptions that can be used by public authorities where appropriate.
Public authorities may release a record only in part, usually by redacting the exempted information out. Exemptions were claimed in only 16 per cent of requests, with the remainder of non-disclosure due to various exceptions, deferral or administrative closure, which usually related to duplicate requests or where the application has been withdrawn by the applicant.
The exemption that was most often used relates to the protection of personal information, which was claimed in some 148 cases. While the FOI Law does provide a way for an individual to access their own personal information, and where needed request that records be amended or annotated to reflect corrections to that information. The law protects individual privacy and does not allow for an applicant to access the personal information of a third party.
The next most used exemptions were to protect commercial interests (49 cases) and to safeguard law enforcement (48 cases).
The Information Commissioner’s Office is required to report to the Legislative Assembly on the operation of the Law each year. It is working on producing an annual report for the 2010/2011 year, which will be completed in the coming months. The report will detail statistical information and will provide an in depth analysis of the categories of applicants and what type of information is being requested.
The ICO produces operational reports on a quarterly basis. These, along with decisions, investigations and other policy documents can be found on the ICO website at www.infocomm.ky
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