Latest news with #freedomofinformation
Sky News
4 days ago
- Health
- Sky News
NHS Fife rebuked by watchdog over handling of transgender row tribunal cost requests
NHS Fife failed to comply with its freedom of information duties over the costs of an employment tribunal, Scotland's Information Commissioner has ruled. The health board received three separate requests in March 2025 for the cost to date of the legal action, which was brought by nurse Sandie Peggie after her complaint about sharing a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton led to her suspension. She was suspended from Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in January 2024 after she objected to Dr Upton using the changing facilities in its A&E department on Christmas Eve 2023. Ms Peggie took the health board and Dr Upton to a tribunal, lodging a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. The tribunal has been part heard, with proceedings set to continue in July. NHS Fife rejected all three freedom of information (FOI) requests, stating that the information requested was exempt under the FOI Act's exemption - which protects personal information. However, a probe by the Scottish Information Commissioner has revealed that when responding to the requests, NHS Fife did not actually have the information on which it based its reply. Information Commissioner David Hamilton said the details about costs was not obtained until later from the NHS Central Legal Office, and that the health board should have replied on the basis of information it did hold at the time of the requests. Mr Hamilton ordered the health board to carry out fresh searches for information it did "actually hold" at the time, and to issue revised responses in line with what it finds. The commissioner also disputed NHS Fife's claim the cost data would be exempt from disclosure on the basis set out, and called on it to "exercise caution" when considering related exemptions around any additional information found. Mr Hamilton described the matter as "frustrating" both for himself and for those who were seeking the information from the health board. "In the circumstances, I am only able to require that NHS Fife carry out further searches to identify all information held at the time the request was made and then issue a revised response to the requesters," he said. "The delays that have arisen as a result were wholly avoidable, and I would urge that all public authorities ensure their responses to FOI requests are based on information they actually hold." A spokesperson for the health board said: "NHS Fife notes the report from the Scottish Information Commissioner and intends to comply fully with its decision notice."
The Guardian
17-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Surge in refusals for freedom of information undermines trust in Australian government, watchdog warns
The Australian government is refusing freedom of information requests at a rate not seen for a decade, data shows, prompting concerns for transparency and accountability. Data held by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the watchdog overseeing the FoI system, revealed the proportion of FoI requests being completely refused has shot up to 27% in the December 2024 quarter. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email That is the highest level since at least 2014-15, historical records show. The OAIC said it is aware of the rising refusal rate and is monitoring the situation. 'There are some clear opportunities for improvement for the commonwealth FoI system that we are alive to as the regulator and monitoring,' a spokesperson said. 'This includes refusal rates.' The skyrocketing refusal rate has prompted concern among transparency advocates. Transparency International Australia chief executive officer, Clancy Moore, said the FoI system was an essential tool in ensuring accountability and integrity, but refusal rates suggested 'important information about the functioning of government is being kept from everyday Australians'. 'Given the Albanese's government commitment to transparency, open government and integrity, there is a clear argument to introducing stronger consequences for unlawful refusals, increase funding to the FoI teams and the OAIC, and continue work to foster a culture of openness and transparency in the public sector,' he said. The commonwealth has improved its performance in other areas of the FoI system. In the last three years, it has improved the speed of its decision making, partly reversing some significant declines between 2019 and 2022. It is now processing 75% of FoIs within the required time limit, up from 70% in 2021-22. The federal government is also releasing more FoIs in full than its state and territory counterparts. It is continuing to reduce the costs charged to applicants for processing FoIs. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The OAIC said FoI should be a core business for government departments. 'We would like to see government agencies embrace it as something they need to do well to get the community's trust and confidence,' a spokesperson said. The OAIC is now intervening to review refusal decisions at a record rate, conducting merit reviews in 207 cases in 2023-24. It said it planned to increase its effectiveness as a regulator of FoI, promote open government, and improve the ability of government agency's to respond to FoI requests. 'The right to participate in government decision making through access to information and to hold government to account is one of the fundamental features of our democratic system of government,' the spokesperson said. 'The FoI Act recognises that the information government holds is a national resource and is managed for public purposes, and that public access to it should be prompt and at the lowest reasonable cost.'
