Guide to Using FoI in Campaigning

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National Council or Voluntary Organisations

Campaigning Eectiveness

Voicing your right to know:

A guide to using Freedom oInormation in campaigning

Campaigning Eectiveness, NCVOSeptember 2010Philip Hadley


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Contents

Voicing your right to know:A guide to using Freedom oInormation in campaigning

02 Contents03 Overview11 Survey ndings17 FOI in action: Case studies35 Analysis46 Resourses

CampaigningEectiveness, NCVO

Contents click on a heading tohyperlink to that section

About Campaigning Eectivenessand the author ...................................................3

Acknowledgements ........................................4

Glossary .................................................................4Foreword...............................................................5

Executive summary .........................................6

Conclusions .........................................................7

Introduction and overview ..........................8

Methodology and aims ...............................10

Survey ndings ................................................11

FOI in action: case studies

Bliss ........................................................................18

TreeHouse .........................................................21

The Corner House.........................................24

Campaign or Clean Air in London ...... 27

Campaign Against Arms Trade ...............31

Analysis and conclusions ........................ .... 35

FOI challenges and benetssummary table ........................ ........................ 39

Points to consider and FOIcampaign planning diagram..................... 40

Experiences o FOI: Comments..............41

List o FOIA exemptions ............................44

List o EIR exceptions ...................................45

Resources ...................... ......................... ........... 46

Reerences..........................................................4 7

FOI request sample and response ........ 49


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Overview



About usCampaigning Eectiveness, NCVOsupports and empowers people andorganisations to change their worldthrough campaigning and inuencingpolicy. We bring together experienceand expertise and drive excellence incampaigning and policy work acrosscivil society by providing support,knowledge, tools and resources.

For urther inormation about ourwork go to www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/campaigningeectiveness

This resource has been produced byCampaigning Eectiveness, NCVO aspart o the campaigning and advocacywork stream unded by Capacitybuilders.

What is campaigningand inuencing?You might call it infuencing, voice,advocacy or campaigning, but o allthese activities are about creatingchange. At NCVO we use the wordcampaigning and dene this as the

mobilising o orces by organisationsor individuals to infuence others inorder to eect an identied and desiredsocial, economic, environmental orpolitical change.

Whatever you call it and whether youare trying to save a local communitycentre rom closing or lobbyinggovernment, campaigning is aboutcreating a change. The impact is the real

change created by a campaign thedierence it makes to peoples lives.

About the authorPhilip Hadley coordinates researchinto eective voluntary and communitysector campaign strategies orCampaigning Eectiveness.

Philip has worked previously or NGOsin India and the UK. He plays the

trombone and can oten be seen cyclingaround London, though he has yet toperect doing both simultaneously.


03 About Campaigning Eectiveness04 Acknowledgements04 Glossary05 Foreword06 Executive summary

07 Conclusions08 Introduction and overview10 Methodology and aims
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/campaigningeffectivenesshttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/campaigningeffectivenesshttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/campaigningeffectivenesshttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/campaigningeffectiveness


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Overview



AcknowledgementsThis guide would not have been possiblewithout the valuable and insightulcontributions made by the individualsand organisations who agreed toshare their experiences o Freedomo Inormation. Their experiences arepresented through several case studies,on which the guide is based. In particularI would like to thank Helen Kirrane,Sasha Daly, Nick Hildyard, SimonBirkett, Ian Prichard, Ann Feltham, SarahWaldron, Gerry Facenna, Laura ElizabethJohn and other individuals rom theorganisations rom which they belong.

Further thanks to all o the campaignerswho took the time to complete thesurvey questionnaire, and to KatySwaine, Andy Glyde, Richard Taylor& Alex Skene, William Summers, LauraGyte, Maurice Frankel, Kevin Dunion,Graham Smith, Albert Chan, EalingBorough Council & Mr Alan Fenton

or providing such interesting andthoughtul comments.

Last but not least, thanks to mycolleagues at NCVO or their helpulsupport and advice, in particular SusieRabin, Amelia Gudgion, Davinder Kaur,Belinda Pratten, Ann Blackmore,Elizabeth Chamberlain, David Kaneand Ellie Brodie.

GlossaryTermDescription

CAATCampaign Against ArmsTrade

CCALCampaign or Clean Air inLondon

CFOICampaign or Freedom oInormation

ECGDUnited Kingdom ExportCredit GuaranteeDepartment

EIREnvironmentalInormation Regulations

FOEFriends o the Earth

FOIFreedom o Inormation

FOIAFreedom o InormationAct

GLAGreater London Authority

ICOInormation

Commissioners OceMOUMemoranda oUnderstandings

NCVONational Council orVoluntary Organisations

NGONon-governmentalorganisation

PESTPolitical, Economic, Socialand Technological analysis

RNIDRoyal National Instituteor Dea People

SICScottish InormationCommissioners Oce

SWOTStrengths, Weaknesses,Opportunities andThreats analysis

UCLUniversity College London

UKTI DSOUnited Kingdom Tradeand Investment Deenceand Security Organisation

VCOVoluntary and CommunityOrganisations

VCSVoluntary and CommunitySector

TribunalInormation Tribunal First Tier and Upper Tier

KHRPKurdish HumanRights Project





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Overview



ForewordCampaigning is a critical element o civilsociety. It is a way o making our voicesheard, establishing rights, and changingbehaviour or the law. It is one o thetools we use to help build the goodsociety.

The Freedom o Inormation Act (FOIA)and the Environmental InormationRegulations (EIR) both came about asthe result o many years o campaigningby individual citizens and voluntary andcommunity organisations. NCVO, inpartnership with the Ashridge Centre orBusiness and Society, published a reporton the potential o the FOI Act. As thatreport predicted, these Acts are nowthemselves an important part o our

campaigning armoury.

This new guide demonstrates howFreedom o Inormation can be used asa powerul and versatile campaigningtool at a local or national level, whetherto develop the content o a campaignor to gain crucial inormation on howdecisions are made. It shows howcampaigners are at the oreront o

developing our right to know, makinggovernment more transparent andexploring key challenges.

I want to thank the organisations whoworked with us to produce such valuablecase studies, and the individuals whocontributed to the research.

I hope you nd this guide useul. Nowmore than ever we need to make surethe voices o citizens and communitiesare heard.

Sir Stuart EtheringtonNCVO Chie ExecutiveOctober 2010





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Executive summaryWe have ound that Freedom oInormation (FOI) is a very powerul,versatile and complementarycampaigning tool that voluntary andcommunity organisations (VCOs) areat the oreront o developing. This isthe central nding o ve case studiesalongside a survey o 45 campaigningorganisations. While FOI came intoorce under a Labour Government, itsimportance has been recognised by thepresent Conservative-Liberal DemocratCoalition Government, in their aimto extend the scope o the Freedomo Inormation Act to provide greatertransparency.1

Using FOI in campaigning is crucial

to achieving greater transparency through a constructive process, whichcan bring both signicant campaigngains alongside increased accountability.The guide echoes the ndings oprevious research by NCVO, that theVoluntary and Community Sector (VCS)have used FOI extensively and there isan even greater potential and appetiteor urther use.2

This guide shows that FOI is a toolwhich can complement other methodso campaigning and is useul or avariety o purposes at a local or nationallevel, chie among them research andadvocacy to the public, local andnational government and in gainingmedia interest.

The case studies explore how FOIhas been used in dierent ways orexample as a survey tool aimed atgathering inormation rom localauthorities and NHS neo-natal units,as well as an advocacy tool to gaininsight into how policy is developed,how decisions are arrived at and whatpublic money is being spent on. Theguide explores how FOI can be usedto build understanding and inormcampaign agendas, to eed into research,publications and policy work with MPs,Peers and the public, as well as to gainmedia coverage and support the worko local campaigners.

But using FOI has not been withoutdiculties. Campaigners have otenound that the quantity and qualityo inormation has been insucient,that signicant delays are common inreceiving inormation and that it is otenvery resource-intensive to ollow-uprequests. Furthermore, the guidanceavailable rom public authoritiesleaves some issues such as the rightto publish copyright FOI inormationunclear. Though they consider FOI tobe worthwhile and eective, someorganisations have experienced anegative eect on their workingrelationships ollowing makingFOI requests.

While the appeals system is a key beneto FOI it has also been a rustration tocampaigners, particularly in terms odrawn-out internal reviews and, whilethe Inormation Commissioners Oce(ICO) can be helpul and is an importantresource or campaigners, it has otentaken a long time to reach decisions.Key to appealing is persistence anddetermination as the rewards can bewell worth it.

There was also a denite need ound orlegal support and advice or campaigners,as central to the appeals o the casestudy organisations was recourse to reelegal support, particularly with regard toappeals to the Inormation Tribunal.

Despite these challenges the campaignersinterviewed and those surveyed thought

that FOI is a powerul campaigning tooland has huge potential in the uture.A common reason or using FOI was arustration with a lack o progress throughother methods. FOI can be extremelycost-eective at the cost o writing aletter it can transorm a campaign in itsoundation through content, and in itsreach through advocacy.

It is crucially important however to

consider strategy to question why asa campaigner you wish to use FOI, toconduct PEST and SWOT analyses andmapping exercises to explore routes oinfuence3 and to complement FOI withother tools where appropriate. There ishuge potential or higher uptake o theFOIA and EIR by campaigners, as theollowing case studies show, campaigningwith FOI can be a very engaging andrewarding process.

Overview







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Overview



Conclusions on a page FOI is a powerful, versatile and

complementary campaigning tool

It is quite clear how powerful a toolFOI is in campaigning, the benets owhich outweigh the challenges

Why use FOI? Frustration with a lack of progress in

campaigning through other means

FOI can be used to build a body ofresearch, as well as a way to engagethe media in your campaign

Engaging supporters via new socialmedia, publications or other methods

FOI is a powerful advocacy tool to gain

inormation about policy issues andhow decisions are arrived at

FOI is one of a range of tools in thecampaigning toolkit

Challenges to FOI

The quality and quantity ofinormation received is oteninsucient and response rates vary

It may be necessary yet resourceintensive to ollow-up requests to gaininormation

While FOI is a right to know, if indoubt, seek consent i you wish topublish copyright inormation

It is important to frame a requestappropriately, and ask or specicrecorded inormation, reerencingspecic time periods i possible

It may be worth considering othertools i the inormation can be gainedanother way

Appeals

Persistence and determination arecrucial to any successul appeal

Making appeals can be time-consuming

Legal assistance is often crucial forappeals to the Inormation Tribunal,especially i the appeal is complicated

Final thoughts

Developing a campaign strategy,along the lines suggested by the GoodCampaigns Guide is crucial to making

FOI requests4

It is important to see FOI requests asuseul or a variety o purposes at alocal as much as a national level

Research on the effectiveness ofFOI in campaigning is in its inancy,this guide demonstrates a need orongoing impact assessments andlearning opportunities

While FOI has been used signicantlyby voluntary organisations incampaigning, there is a potential orhigher uptake

Voluntary organisations are atthe cutting-edge o using FOI incampaigning




1. HM Government (2010) The Coalition: our programme for government(London, HM Government), p. 112. Pratten, B. (NCVO) and Gribben, C. (Ashridge Centre orBusiness and Societ y) (2005)Called to Account: The impactof the Freedom of Information Act (London, NCVO), p.73. See Kingham, T., and Coe, J., NCVO (2007) the goodCampaigns Guide: Campaigning for Impact (London, NCVO),pp. 27-334. Kingham, T., and Coe, J., (2007) The good Campaigns guide:Campaigning for Impact (London, NCVO)
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guidehttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/products-services/publications/good-campaigns-guide


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Introduction andoverviewGood government is open government, andgood government is effective governmentOur long-term goal is to strengthen thelink between the state and the citizen.5Lord Falconer, Secretary o State or

Constitutional Aairs, 1 January 2005. For an overview of the Freedom

o Inormation Act please reer tothe guidance by the InormationCommissioners Oce.

For information on the FOIA andthe EIR including how best to makea request please reer to the Guideby NCVO, as well as the Users Guideand Right to Know handbook by the

Campaign or Freedom o Inormation(CFOI) and Friends o the Earth (FOE),respectively.

For further information, pleasereer to the Resources section.

While opening up government andmaking more eective governmentare perhaps the most crucial aims to,and value o, Freedom o Inormationlegislation, FOI is rst and oremosta right. It is a right to know aboutinormation that aects our lives, as wellas an opportunity or campaigners touse that inormation to urther positivesocial change.

But how should we use FOI incampaigning? Core aims o thelegislation are to increase transparency,accountability, public participation andcondence in government. However,as a previous report by NCVO andthe Ashridge Centre or Business andSociety noted, Less attention has beengiven to the Acts potential to supportcampaigning and lobbying outside othe media spotlight, by voluntary andcommunity organisations,5 who arecrucial, it is argued, in achieving such aims.

The report, Called to Account: The Impactof the Freedom of Information Act, wasbased on a survey o the voluntarysector in 2005 just ater the Act hadcome ully into orce.

One o the major ndings was thatwhile a signicant number o voluntaryand community organisations had usedthe Act and more intended to do so,there was a need or practical adviceand guidance about the Act and how itworks, with regard to its use by VCOsto inorm campaigning activities.6This guide has been written withthis need in mind.

Though UK FOI legislation coversEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland(Scotland has separate legislation),this guide is aimed primarily (but notexclusively) at voluntary and communityorganisations in England, refecting thegeographical ocus o NCVO.

Legislation

FOI legislation gives us access to non-personal8 recorded inormation heldby or on behal o central government,local authorities and other public bodies,which is not already available throughother means; all public authorities are nowrequired to produce a Publication Schemedetailing specifed types o inormationthey hold and how to access it.

The FOIA is supplemented by theEIR, which gives people a right toknow about environmental matters.FOIA allows or the withholding oinormation where other legislationprevents disclosure, whereas EIR actuallyoverrides prohibitions contained in otherlaws, i applicable.

The onus in the legislation is quite clearlyin avour o disclosure; i requests arerejected they are done so via eitherabsolute or qualied exemptions thelatter requiring the application o apublic interest test.9 Public authoritiesare also required to respond to requestswithin 20 working days.10 Appeals can bemade rst or an internal review by thepublic authority, then to the ICO and ineed be litigation can be pursued to theInormation Tribunal, and potentially tothe High Court; or the latter solely onpoints o law.




5. Lord Falcorner, quoted in BBC News (2005)Right to inormation becomes law:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4139087.stm 6. NCVO & Ashridge (2005) Called to Account, p. 9
http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/freedom_of_information.aspxhttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sites/default/files/FOIA_Guide.pdfhttp://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foi_guide.pdfhttp://www.foe.co.uk/resource/guides/right_to_know_handbook.dochttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4139087.stmhttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/foi/ESRC-end-of-award-reporthttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/foi/ESRC-end-of-award-reporthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4139087.stmhttp://www.foe.co.uk/resource/guides/right_to_know_handbook.dochttp://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foi_guide.pdfhttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sites/default/files/FOIA_Guide.pdfhttp://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/freedom_of_information.aspx


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Available inormation

While guidance or public authoritiesand the public is easily accessible andonline, such as that by the ICO, there isa relative dearth o inormation aimedat campaigners. Key resources howeverare the CFOI and FOE, both o whomhave useul guides or campaigners with

particular regard to the specicities othe FOI and EIR Acts, which this guidedoes not seek to replicate but rathercomplement. For a ull list o resourcesplease reer to the Resources section.

In terms o requests made, recentstatistics released by the Ministry oJustice reveal that in 2009, monitoredcentral government bodies received atotal o 40,548 non-routine FOI and

EIR requests a 16 per cent increase onthe number received in 2008.11Calledto Account revealed that in 2005, the

year the Act was implemented, 18,000voluntary groups used FOI at leastonce in the rst year and 50,000 bodiesplanned to use it in the uture.12

Although FOI has now spread to some75 countries around the world, it hasbeen surprisingly under-researched.There is however a growing body oresearch, or example by UCL.13 Whilestatistics are collected on the numbero requests in the UK, there has notbeen a substantial analysis o impact particularly o a qualitative nature.Statistics concerning the number orequests made to public authoritiesoutside o central government arealso not collated centrally.

Good government is opengovernment?

Opening up government poses hugeopportunities or campaigning, bothin methodology and in achievingaims. Richard Thomas, InormationCommissioner rom 2002 to 2009reiterated Lord Falconers remarks,arguing in 2007, good government[has not]proved to be incompatiblewith transparencyopen governmentis good government.14

Campaigning journalist Heather Brookehas argued in her useul FOI guide YourRight to Know, The new openness lawshave not overloaded public services orled to the collapse o government.15CFOI have reported a multitude opress stories generated based on FOIrequests16, to the point that, as theormer Inormation Commissionerobserved, Scarcely a day goes by whenthere is not a newspaper story along thelines Inormation disclosed under theFreedom o Inormation Actreveals that17

7. NCVO & Ashridge (2005) Called to Account, p. 278. I an individual wishes to access their own personal data,requests should be made via the Data Protection Act, orurther guidance please ollow this link to the ICOs guidance.9. The EIR has only qualied exemptions, which i citedalways require a Public Interest Test.10. There are a limited number o actors which may extendthis, please see the ICO guidance reerenced at the end othe guide.11. Non-routine reers to requests which qualiy aseither FOIA or EIR requests. Ministry o Justice, Freedomo Inormation Act 2000: 2009 Annual Statistics onimplementation in central government, Ministry of JusticeStatistics Bulletin, 29 April 2010, p. 4:




12. Called to Account, p. 713. Hazell, R. and Worthy, B. UCL Constitution Unit (2009)Impact of FOI on central government: Constitution

Unit end of award report to ESRC, p.1: Seehttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/oi/ESRC-end-o-award-report14. Thomas, R. (2007) Open government is good government,speech at Northumbria University. pp. 1-215. Brooke, H. (2005) Your right to know: A citizens guide to theFreedom of Information Act (London, Pluto Press), p. 1016. Matthew J, Robison, R., CFOI, 1000 FOI Stories from 2006and 2007. Seehttp://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/FOIStories2006-07.pdf17. Thomas, R. (2007) Open government, p. 1

h k
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/foi/ESRC-end-of-award-reporthttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/foi/ESRC-end-of-award-reporthttp://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/FOIStories2006-07.pdfhttp://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/FOIStories2006-07.pdfhttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/foi/ESRC-end-of-award-reporthttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/foi/ESRC-end-of-award-report


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Methodology

This guide oers an opportunity toexplore themes in using FOI, the impactand potential o the FOIA and the EIR,as well as the benets and challenges tousing FOI in campaigning. By ocusingon ve case studies o requests madeby organisations that have exercised

our right to know, we can shed lighton experiences o open and goodgovernment. These case studies arebased on interviews with campaignersrom those organisations and othersinvolved with the FOI requests. Thecase studies are supplemented by asurvey o the use o FOI by 45 voluntaryorganisations, to gain an insight intocharacteristics o the use and potentialuse o FOI throughout the voluntaryand community sector.

Lastly, the guide eatures elevencomments by individuals rom VCOsand public sector organisations onexperiences o FOI, highlighting keyissues or campaigners.

It is important to emphasisethat FOI requests can be a verystraightorward, simple and cost-eective way to gain inormationas well as a powerul advocacy tool.Appealing a decision can also bringdividends at the expense o a letter,as with a request. We hope this guidewill encourage you to do both.

The case study organisations are:

Bliss

TreeHouse

The Corner House

Campaign for Clean Air in London

Campaign Against Arms Trade

The aim o the guide is to:

Explore the use and potentialuse o Freedom o Inormationin campaigning;

Understand key challengesand benets to using FOI as acampaigning tool;

Explore how and in what wayvoluntary and communityorganisations are using and/orplanning to use FOI in campaigning;

Develop key learning points forVCOs to use FOI in campaigning.




V i i i ht t kC i i


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The survey gathered responses rom a range ovoluntary and community organisations whose workinvolves campaigning, receiving 45 in total. They wereo dierent sizes (in terms o income) with moresmall and medium (33) than large and major sizedorganisations (12), airly representative o the

voluntary sector.18

The results rom this survey enable us to provide aninormative snapshot o the use o FOI by campaigningorganisations.19 Thirty-eight respondents had made FOIrequests, while 39 intended to. Furthermore, all but oneo those who had not made an FOI request expressed adesire to do so in the uture. This represents a very high

use o FOI now and, we can predict, a signicant rise inthe uture.20

18. Small incomes below 100k; medium between 100k and 1m; large 1m to 10m; and major over 10m.This ollows the categorisation in Wilding et al., (2010), The UK Civil Society Almanac 2010 (London, NCVO), p. 2419. There are no available statistics on the total amount o campaigning organisations in existence though theAlmanac reports 138, 721 voluntary and community organisations active in 2007/08.

Survey ndings

Both small and large VCOs have beenmaking requests to dierent types opublic authorities. Seven campaignersreported making requests to all typeso public authorities listed below.21

While Called to Account ound a muchhigher percentage o requests to centralgovernment, this survey ound only aslightly higher number.

Centralgovernment

Localgovernment

Other publicbodies

Requests toseveral types

Current use 21 20 16 12

20. The respondents were invited to participate through two NCVO e-newsletters, via the Forum or Change website,an e-newsletter sent by the CFOI and a post on the UK Freedom o Inormation blog.21. There were 36 responses to this question regarding the recipents o past and current FOI requests.

Voicing your right to know:C i i
http://www.forumforchange.org.uk/http://www.cfoi.org.uk/http://foia.blogspot.com/http://foia.blogspot.com/http://www.cfoi.org.uk/http://www.forumforchange.org.uk/


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Survey ndings



Campaigning activity

Most organisations used FOI as a tool to support a range o their activities: 22

As the graph indicates, most campaigners intend to use FOI or similar activities asthey have been doing, which suggests FOI is very eective in those areas. A markedincrease is also predicted in requests to inorm lobbying, advocacy and mediaactivities. Research was reported as the major past use or FOI requests, ollowed bymedia and lobbying central government, a nding which supports the themes in theollowing case studies. Called to Account actually predicted a rise in requests to localauthorities, which is also borne out by these results as the biggest rise, proportionally.

The most common combinations o activities inormed by FOI requests (in terms

o current and intended use), was ound to be all o the activities in the abovegraph except the other category, which indicates a very versatile campaigning tool.For current use, this was ollowed by research and lobbying central government,while or uture use all activities was tied with all activities bar lobbying localgovernment and other.23

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Num

bero

frespon

dents

Research&

pu

blications

FOI campaigning activity or past requests FOI campaigning activity or uture requests

Lo

bbyingcentral

government

Lo

bbying

loca

l

government

Advocacyto

thepu

blic

Me

dia

Other


22. There were 37 responses to the question regarding current use and 40 to uture use.23. Please note: The highest number o respondents choosing the same combination o answers to anyparticular question or both current and uture use o FOI was our; thereore patterns are not too signicant.

Voicing your right to know:Campaigning


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Signifcance o FOI to campaigning

Twice as many campaigners perceived FOI to be signicant to their overallcampaigning activities than insignicant. While there was no particular relationshipound between the perceived suciency o the inormation received rom FOIrequests and the types o requests made, it is interesting to note that there was,and is, a large variation in uses o FOI that FOI is o much signicance to researchin particular, as well as to lobbying and or media work.

Familiarity with FOI

One o the key ndings rom Called to Account was that amiliarity drives use,which is supported by this research with regard to its use as a campaigning tool:

As noted above, most o those who had not used FOI intended to do so,which when combined with the above results indicates a need or amiliarisingpeople with FOI.

Quality and quantity o inormation received under FOI

While just under hal o respondents ound the inormation sucient, o thosewho responded to this question (36), just under a third were unsure and just under

a th thought the inormation insucient, which supports the trends within thecase studies. There was no signicant pattern ound when compared with thedierent campaigning activities FOI has been used to inorm or is intended toinorm. O those who received insucient inormation, all but one reported theyhad used FOI to inorm and intended to use FOI to inorm over our dierentactivities.

Survey ndings




Veryinsignifcant

Fairlyinsignifcant

UnsureFairlysignifcant

Verysignifcant

5 6 5 18 4

Totallyinsufcient

Insufcient Unsure SufcientMore thansufcient

3 4 10 16 3

Very amiliarSomewhatamiliar

Not at allamiliar

Used FOI 14 23 0

Not used FOI 2 2 3

13



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Risk, benefts and challenges

While a prominent number o respondents perceived there to be no risk to usingFOI, nearly as many believed that FOI presents a marginal risk to an organisationsmission, proessional relationships and/or campaigning this was also a key theme

in the case studies.It is important to note that o the 41 respondents who answered a urther question,all but three believed that the benets o using FOI in campaigning outweighed thechallenges. While Called to Account reported a similar nding yet with ewer statingno risk, research by the Scottish Inormation Commissioners Oce (SIC) on theuse o FOI in Scotland ound a reticence among voluntary organisations to use FOIdue to a ear that it might harm working relations or unding relations or both.24This suggests that campaigning organisations in England recognise risk yet aregrowing in condence to use what they perceive as a largely benecial tool.

It is also signicant that o those who perceived an absence o risk to FOI, only

our reported using and intending to use FOI or under our dierent campaigningactivities. This suggests that perception o risk does not depend on use in oneparticular activity, or example in lobbying or gaining media coverage.

Is FOI a powerul tool?

Interestingly the above graph indicates that respondents project their perceptionso the current power o FOI to the uture potential o FOI as a campaigningtool; the most common answer was that FOI is and has the potential to be airlypowerul. Conversely, while no-one thought FOI is at present very powerul, overa third thought it has the potential to be so. These answers chime well with the casestudies that while there are signicant challenges to FOI, it is a powerul tool andcan be even more powerul.

Survey ndings




Huge risk Marginal risk No risk Dont know

Number 0 17 18 930

25

20

15

10

5

0

Num

bero

fresp

on

dents

Very

unpowerfu

l

I s FOI powerul? Is FOI potential ly powerul?

Fairly

unpowerfu

l

Dontknow

Fairlypowerfu

l

Verypowerfu

l

14

24. Spence, K. University o Strathclyde, (2010) Volunteering Information:The use of Freedom of Information laws by the Third Sector in Scotland Survey Findings, p.5:http://www.itspublicknowledge.ino/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=3488&sID=3210

http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=3488&sID=3210http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=3488&sID=3210


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When compared with which types o campaigning activities FOI requests haveinormed, we nd that o those who perceived FOI to be airly powerul (24),hal chose three or more activities with research, lobbying central government andmedia eaturing highly (research being the most prominent), ndings which arerepeated or the uture use o FOI.

As mentioned, a signicant emphasis was placed by respondents on the uturepotential o FOI to be very powerul. O the 16 participants who chose this option,ten respondents chose three or more answers with research, lobbying central

government, media and advocacy prominent.

Appeals

While the ollowing case studies ound both huge benet yet signicant challengeswith the appeals process, it is worth noting statistics reported by the ScottishInormation Commissioner (SIC), which revealed that only 3% o applicationsstemmed rom the category Voluntary/campaign organisation.25 This surveyreported the ollowing:

Though the above nding may suggest a relatively low current use o the appealsprocess, we ound that 16 voluntary organisations reported an appetite orpursuing litigation to obtain inormation and eight to establish a right to accesscertain inormation. While just under hal o the respondents did not expressan appetite or litigation, we did nd that the more amiliar organisations werewith FOI as a campaigning tool, the more likely they were to make an appeal condence increases with use. This supports similar ndings rom Called to Account voluntary organisations wont take no or an answer.26

Support

Survey ndings

g y gA guide to using Freedom oInormation in campaigning


35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Writingbriengs

Guideshowcasing

best practice

Web-basedinormation

Training Opportunitiesto meetothers

Valued sources o support


Appealed to the ICO

Pursued litigation

through courts

Number o respondents 7 5

15

25. The total number o appeals by VCOs in Scotland may be higher; this gure reers to the number o applicants who chosethe category Voluntary/campaign organisation when appealing to the SIC. Scottish Inormation Commissioner, Freedom ofInformation Annual Report 2009. See: http://www.itspublicknowledge.ino/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=3616&sID=23426. Called to Account, p. 23

Voicing your right to know:Campaigning 16
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While most respondents chose three or more sources o support, withcombinations o written briengs, a best practice guide and web-based inormationthe most common, over hal o respondents reported they were somewhat awareo existing sources o help and support, with a signicant amount (ten) very aware.The need or more support is thereore predicated on signicant experiences inusing FOI, indicating that more support could be crucial in the uptake o FOI incampaigning.

Field o interest

As can be seen, the organisations that responded to the survey work in a widerange o areas, while other was the largest category, a signicant degree wereinvolved in community development and environmental work, ollowed byeducation and health. This complicates previous evidence that most voluntaryand community organisations using or intending to use FOI are largely health,international and/or environmentally-ocused.27

The research indicated that a prominent amount o environmentally-ocusedorganisations perceived there to be no risk to using FOI, while most health

organisations ound there to be a marginal risk. Both types o organisationsperceived FOI to be a airly powerul tool, and, particularly in the case oenvironmental organisations, as having the potential to be a very powerul tool.The responses by economic and community development organisations ollowedthe general ndings; that FOI is perceived as airly powerul now, it can be more soin the uture and that it presents marginal or no risk.28

It is worth setting the results o this survey beside the ndings o a survey oFOI requesters by UCLs Constitution Unit which ocused on the impact o FOI that FOI has increased transparency[and]accountability, though not to thesame extent.29

Survey ndings

g y gA guide to using Freedom oInormation in campaigning


16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Num

bero

frespon

dents

Me

dical

/health/sickness

Disability

Re

liefo

fpoverty

Overseasai

d

Accommo

dation

/housing

Arts/cu

lture

Sport

/recreation

Animals

Environment/

conservation

/heritage

Economic/community

deve

lopment/emp

loyment

Education

/training

Genera

lcharitab

letraining

Other


27.Called to Account, p. 14. The Other category reers to any eld o interest not specied in the named categories.28. These ndings should be seen as patterns as opposed to highly signicant statistical correlations between statedelds o interest and chosen responses in the survey.29. Hazell, R. and Worthy, B. UCL Constitution Unit (2009) Impact of FOI on central government, p. 5

16

17Voicing your right to know:Campaigning


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17

FOI in action:The case studies

Case StudiesThe ollowing pages contain ve case studies eacho a voluntary and community organisation with regardto their use o Freedom o Inormation in campaigning.They reveal the opportunities FOI has presented tothem, the benets they have experienced and thechallenges they have aced. Based on interviews withcampaigners and other individuals involved with theollowing FOI requests, the case studies enable us to

understand how FOI can be used as a campaigning tool,rom the perspective o those who have used it.



18 Bliss21 TreeHouse24 The Corner House27 Campaign or Clean Air in London31 Campaign Against Arms Trade


Life can only beunderstood backwards;but it must be lived

forwards.Sren Kierkegaard

18Voicing your right to know:A d F d

Campaigning


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18


BlissBliss, the special care baby charity, provides vitalsupport and care to premature and sick babies acrossthe UK. Founded 30 years ago, they oer guidanceand inormation at a critical time in amilies lives. Theyalso und ground-breaking research and campaigningor babies to receive the best possible level o careregardless o when and where they are born.www.bliss.org.uk


p g gEectiveness, NCVO



19Voicing your right to know:A id t i F d

Campaigning
http://www.bliss.org.uk/http://www.bliss.org.uk/


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19

FOI in action: The case studies

Bliss


p g gEectiveness, NCVO

Perhaps one o the most signicantchallenges that Bliss experienced was anegative reaction rom the proessionalscompleting the Freedom o Inormationrequest. Although FOI was reallysuccessul in producing what we wantedit to produce, the doctors that we workwith ound it a bit heavy-handed. In2007 and 2008 the report was based on

ndings rom a Freedom o Inormationrequest sent to neonatal units.

Stafng shortages, inadequateacilities and too many inappropriatetransers mean that while babiesoten receive excellent care, theirparents can eel neglected or in theway when they are at their mostemotionally vulnerable.31Baby steps to better care:

Bliss Baby Report 2008.

In 2008 Bliss launched their One to onenursing campaign or babies in intensivecare, to harness public support or theorganisations policy aims, which wasunderpinned by ndings rom the FOIrequests.

Bliss had previously commissionedresearch or their annual policy reports

but ound the timerames to be toolong and the questions not alwaysappropriate or a policy audience.

It was cost-eective to do FOIrequests because you dont have topay or a research organisation.

FOI requests are a very powerul tool that Bliss hassuccessully used a number o times, but they needto be used in the right way. FOI has a reputationor being a conrontational approach, so while aneective way o uncovering important inormation,it can create challenges with working relationships.

That said, the impact that FOI data can make iscrucial it can really help to cut through with themedia and get your message heard.Andy Cole, Chie Executive, Bliss

Quotes are taken rom an interview with Helen Kirrane,Campaigns and Policy Manager, Bliss.30



30. Unless quotes are reerenced otherwise.31. Phillipson, B and Clark, P (Bliss) (2008)Baby steps to better care (London, Bliss), p.17

20Voicing your right to know:A guide to using Freedom o

Campaigning
http://www.bliss.org.uk/core/core_picker/download.asp?id=642


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20


Bliss

A guide to using Freedom oInormation in campaigningEectiveness, NCVO

Challenges

Though they received a 92% responserate overall, Bliss did experiencesome issues regarding the quality oinormation, some o the answersregarding whether hospital units weremeeting care standards didnt tally withthe gures they provided, suggesting

that respondents were adopting cautionin some o their answers.

Perhaps one o the most signicantchallenges that Bliss experienced was anegative reaction rom the proessionalscompleting the Freedom o Inormationrequest, although it was reallysuccessul in producing what we wantedit to produce, the doctors that we workwith ound it a bit heavy-handed. For

their subsequent policy report, Bliss isconducting a survey but has decidednot to call it a Freedom o Inormationrequest.32

Bliss also ound a challenge withinstitutional delay, some o the requestsdidnt get on to the clinicians deskuntil the day beore the deadline.As campaigners, Bliss also ound thatin relation to use o the Freedom oInormation Act there wasnt a hugeamount o good practice to call on,nothing written down and nowhere we

could go to nd out what hurdles to beaware o.

Final thoughts

Despite the challenges,it was worth doing,it was eective withpolicymakers and NHSTrusts, though its also

worth experimentingwith an inormalrequest.



32. It should be noted that the FOIA places a legalobligation on public authorities to disclose inormationwhether Freedom o Inormation or the FOIA Act isreerenced in a request or not.


Campaigning


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TreeHouseTreeHouse is the national charity or autism education.TreeHouse runs a special school or children and youngpeople with autism, provides inormation and trainingor parents and proessionals, commissions research andcampaigns or change.www.treehouse.org.uk





CampaigningE i NCVO
http://www.treehouse.org.uk/http://www.treehouse.org.uk/


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TreeHouse


TreeHouse used Freedom oInormation like a campaign, to raiseawareness o an online orum aimed atparents o children with autism (Talkabout Autism), but also to eed into theirpolicy work. It was administered by a PRcompany to get press coverage, but thepolicy and parliamentary team helped todevelop the questions.

We wanted it or the press andwe wanted it or wider inormationgathering. The exercise helped usgather evidence to help support thepassage o the Autism Bill, which wasa huge campaign in its own right, tobecome an Act.

The FOI requests were sent to thelead o childrens services in everylocal authority, asking or inormationabout their services or children withautism, and TreeHouse received 62responses out o 200 requests. With asimilar survey which used an inormalrequest procedure, another organisationreceived 6 responses we elt we gota good response rate because it was aFreedom o Inormation request.34

The data was written up into a reportin 2009 Snapshot of childrens autism

services in the UK

We have ound a diverse pictureand one that reects a seriouslack o consistency in areas thatcould and should be consistent understanding needs, meeting needs

and accountability processes.

35

TreeHouse is a keen supporter o FOI as aconstructive approach to campaigning. It isimportant that individuals, local groups andnational charities are able to fnd out how localservices are responding to needs, so that we canidentiy where there are challenges and present

solutions. As the Coalition Government has madeit clear that more decisions will be taken locally, itis vital that TreeHouse can share its experiences ousing FOI with our networks o local amilies, tosupport them as campaigners improving servicesor children with autism in their area.Jolanta Lasota, Chie Executive, TreeHouse.

Quotes are taken rom an interview with Sasha Daly, ormerlySenior Policy and Parliamentary Manager at TreeHouse.33



33. Unless quotes are reerenced otherwise.34. It should be noted that though this may be a goodresponse to a survey, it does mean that 138 authoritiesdid not ull their legal obligations under the FOIA.35. Clements, K and Daly, S (TreeHouse) (2009)Snapshot of childrens autism services in the UK(London, TreeHouse), p.17


CampaigningE ti NCVO
http://www.treehouse.org.uk/files/treehouse-corp/files/documents/TreeHouse_Snapshot_report_November_2009.pdf


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TreeHouse

g gInormation in campaigningEectiveness, NCVO

Challenges

The FOI responses received byTreeHouse were varied FOI is notnecessarily the most reliable source oinormation, but probably one o thebest sources we have. While the onesthat did respond did so quickly, becauseo lack o resources we didnt ollow up

the ones who didnt respond.When making the request, TreeHousestressed that it was not aboutnaming and shaming, though theydid encounter some comments romMPs who held the view that FOI can beresource-intensive or public authorities.Despite this, or TreeHouse FOI wasnot adversarial.

TreeHouse had never submitted an

FOI request beore, neither had the PRagency. They ound that the InormationCommissioner gave very unclear adviceabout publishing the inormation theyreceived, but luckily we got ree legaladvice which was crucial. We had topull on the things there or us as asmall charity.

Final thoughts

One o the most signicantpoints TreeHouse oundthrough its experiencewas thatyou need tothink about how many

questions youre askingand the inormation

youll get back, becauseit was resource intensive.It would be useul tohave a guide to say theseare the issues and the

exemptions so you canthink about them whendesigning questions.

In hindsight, TreeHouse would haveliked to include a request or consent topublish inormation in the rst mailingout.36 TreeHouse ound that it wascrucial to maintain communicationwith whomever you are requestinginormation rom there was quitea bit o going back and orth sohaving a named contact helped to get

the inormation and permission weeventually needed to be able to usethe inormation.



36. Permission is only relevant where the inormation issubject to copyright, and even then a reasonable extract canbe published without permission under the air-dealingprovision o the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988,so long as the source is acknowledged. Summarising orrewriting the inormation in your own words may avoidissues that could arise as a result o copyright.Please reer to the conclusions and the guidance by theIntellectual Property Oce or urther inormation:www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c-exception.htm


CampaigningEectiveness NCVO
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c-exception.htmhttp://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c-exception.htm


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The Corner HouseThe Corner House is a solidarity, research and

advocacy organisation, ocused broadly on humanrights, the environment and development. They aim topay constant attention to issues o social, economic andpolitical power and practical strategy. As part o theirsolidarity work, The Corner House carries out analysis,research and advocacy with the aim o linking issues,stimulating inormed discussion and strategic thought

on critical environmental and social concerns and oencouraging broad alliances to tackle them.www.thecornerhouse.org.uk

Quotes are taken rom an interview with Nick Hildyard,Co-Director o The Corner House. 37

g gInormation in campaigningEectiveness, NCVO



37. Unless quotes are reerenced otherwise.


http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/


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The Corner House

Inormation in campaigningEectiveness, NCVO

The Corner House has used FOI broadlyin two areas: rstly to gain inormationabout particular projects backed bygovernment departments such as theExport Credits Guarantee Department(ECGD), secondly at a policy level togain inormation about particular policychanges.

An important area o our workconcerns the public fnancing oprojects that have socially and/orenvironmentally destructiveimpacts overseas

Using the EIR, The Corner Houserequested a copy o the ECGDs DueDiligence and Underwriting Committeereports o a BP backed pipeline theBaku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Theconstruction o the pipeline provokedmajor concerns regarding its social,environmental and human rights impactrom a range o NGOs, some o whomormed the Baku Ceyhan Campaign.38

In my view those documents go tothe heart o any consideration asto the manner in which the ECGDdischarged its legal duty adequatelyto price its premiumsand ulflledits obligations o ensuring thatits activities accord withits ownbusiness principlesand the UKspolicies and international obligations

on sustainable development andhuman rights.39Nicholas Hildyard,Witness Statement

Following a rejection, an internalreview, appealing to the InormationCommissioner and still receiving noinormation, The Corner House tookthe ECGD to the Inormation Tribunaland managed to gain most o theinormation it initially requested. One

use o the inormation was to eed intopolicy work, or example in notiyingthe Business & Enterprise Committeeo the implications o their ndings, thatit casts serious doubt over a numbero assurances given toParliament as awhole, by ECGD or its Minister.

Complaint by the Baku CeyhanCampaign about the BTC pipeline

The Corner House, Friends o the Earth,the Kurdish Human Rights Project(KHRP) and Platorm made a complaintagainst BP or breaching the guidelineso the Organisation or EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD),regarding multinational enterprises.The request was or correspondencebetween the OECD UK NationalContact Point and other governmentdepartments about the complaint, whichreerred to the BTC pipeline. The CornerHouse received a massive amount oinormation with only the names o thepeople who sent the emails redacted.

Some o the inormation ormed thebasis o an article in the Guardian,regarding a telegram sent by the BritishAmbassador to Azerbaijan in 2004questioning the saety o the pipeline.Nicholas Hildyard commented in thearticle, BP got hundreds o pounds opublic money or this project.40

Many o the requests made byThe Corner House have led to pressstories, and some o its work on theECGD has ed into submissions to theEnvironmental Audit Committee,which kicked o other processes.The inormation was ed into the worko the Baku Ceyhan Campaign.



40. Evans, Rob. Ambassador warned o Azerbaijanoil pipeline risk, The Guardian, 21 August 2006:http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/aug/21/uk.reedomonormation

38. Members o the Baku Ceyhan Campaign includeTheCorner House; FOE England, Wales and Northern Ireland;Llisu Dam Campaign, KHRP and PLATFORM

39. Hildyard, N (2008) Witness Statement of Nicholas Hildyard(on behal o The Corner House, to The InormationTribunal) (unpublished)

26Voicing your right to know:A guide to using Freedom oI i i i i

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/aug/21/uk.freedomofinformationhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/aug/21/uk.freedomofinformationhttp://www.bakuceyhan.org.uk/http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/http://www.foe.co.uk/http://www.khrp.org/http://www.platformlondon.org/http://www.platformlondon.org/http://www.khrp.org/http://www.foe.co.uk/http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/http://www.bakuceyhan.org.uk/http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/aug/21/uk.freedomofinformationhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/aug/21/uk.freedomofinformation


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The Corner House


Challenges

Repeated rejections o requests madeand the length o time it takes to appealdecisions were the main challengesconronted by The Corner House: Itsthe institutional constraints were tryingto get at, we dont make ad hominemcriticisms.

The Corner House appealed on itsown initiative, but noted with particularregard to an appeal post-ICO, youcan lose your way in the request, youcan only get so ar without having legaladvice. There is a really strong case orlegal advice being available as part o theprocess.

According to The Corner House, whilethere is inormation available rom the

ICO, having a lawyer to rame it iscrucial because appeals oten rely on aparticular piece o case law.

Final thoughts

For The Corner House,Freedom o Inormationis defnitely o worthdespite the challenges.FOI enabled The Corner House

to argue that ECGD is breaking itsguidelines and to gain access to a lot ocorrespondence, which was precedentto campaigns around the human rightsimpact o investors decisions.

There is a process o evolving case law,so the exemptions in themselves dontnecessarily mean that you wont get theinormation. Do not be deterred to goon to the internal review and urther.Persistence is really, really important,and raming the request, which, in time,

you get better at doing.

Rachel Bernu,Managing Director, KurdishHuman Rights Project (KHRP)

The KHRP believes that FOI legislationshould be regarded as a giganticstep orward in the protection andpromotion o human rights notonly in Britain but also globally. As hasbeen learnt all to well, lax regulation whether in nance and banking,

or in the laws governing the conducto corporations overseas is ar toocommon. Freedom o Inormation allowsthe British public to see not only whathas happened, but also how to preventuture legal and human rights breachesrom happening again.

In the Kurdish regions where we work,where resources such as natural gas,oil and water are aplenty and whereBritish businesses operate in theirextraction, FOI legislation works toprotect the interests o the British publicin urthering the advancement o humanrights or all.

KHRP: http://www.khrp.org/

Baku Ceyhan Campaign:http://www.bakuceyhan.org.uk/



27Voicing your right to know:A guide to using Freedom oI ti i i i

http://www.khrp.org/http://www.bakuceyhan.org.uk/http://www.bakuceyhan.org.uk/http://www.khrp.org/


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The Campaign or Clean Air in London (CCAL)

aims to achieve urgently and sustainably at leastWorld Health Organisation recommended standardso air quality throughout London.Website link: www.cleanairinlondon.orgBlog link: http://www.cleanairinlondon.orgTwitter link: http://twitter.com/CleanAirLondon


CCAL



28Voicing your right to know:A guide to using Freedom oInormation in campaigning

http://www.cleanairinlondon.org/http://www.cleanairinlondon.org/http://twitter.com/CleanAirLondonhttp://twitter.com/CleanAirLondonhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/http://www.cleanairinlondon.org/


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Campaign or Clean Air in London


The initial reason Simon used FOIwas rustration with a lack o progressthrough more traditional campaigningmethods; he outlines two clear useso FOI developing content andsupporting media interest.

One o the biggest publichealth ailings or cover-ups by agovernment in modern History.Simon Birkett

CCAL used EIR to request inormationrom the Mayor o Londons oce,Dera and the Department o Health,which showed how the ocially statednumber o 1,031 premature deathsin London in 2005 due to dangerousairborne particles (PM

10), was

calculated.

When CCAL nally received aspreadsheet rom Dera and help romthe Department o Health, it was clearthe 1,031 number was based on short-term exposure to PM

10and the real

number or 2005, based on long-termexposure alone, was likely to be between3,500 and 8,000. I was able to publishthose numbers.

The Mayor, in his drat Air QualityStrategy issued in March 2010,estimated that there are around 4,300premature deaths per year in Londonpartly caused by long-term exposureto ne particles, but then rejectedCCALs FOI request or the health studyunderpinning this estimateto be published.42

The Mayor received media criticism43or ailing to publish the health study,as well as a statement by CCAL in itsresponse44 (dated 24 June 2010), to theMayors consultation on the proposedpostponement o Phase 3 o the LondonLow Emission Zone (LEZ).

In their response, CCAL stated thatthey reserved the right to challengethe consultation i the health study andother inormation was not publishedin a timely manner. The study wasnally published at the end o June, andgenerated a lot o media interest.

Simon uses the template EIR letter inYour Right to Know by Heather Brooke,45he argues i you use less ormalmethods, the authorities choosewhat they give you and you get less.

Another major use o FOI or CCALwas in obtaining maps o Londonrom Dera in 2008 showing wherethey thought air quality laws or PM10would be breached in London in 2011.The government had to reapply tothe European Commission or a timeextension or PM

10until 2011 having

had their rst application rejected.

It is incredibly valuablehaving the FOI/EIRpowers. Using them hasundamentally changedwhat the campaign hasbeen able to achieve.Simon Birkett, Founder o CCAL

Quotes are taken rom an interviewwith Simon Birkett.41




http://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdf


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Inormation in campaigning,

CCAL obtained similar maps or NO2

or 2010 and 2015 (the last possibledate or compliance). Whereas thePM

10map showed 40km o roads in

London breaching these laws by 2011,or NO

2, the whole maps were

covered in red lines.

I the authority keeps stonewallingyou, it can be very difcult to getthrough that.

In January 2009, CCAL requestedbrieng materials regarding a meetingbetween the then Air Quality Ministerand London Mayor Boris Johnson,which was rejected by Dera wellbeyond the time limit.

Ater seeking advice rom two pro bonobarristers CCAL requested an internalreview, which was completed belatedlyin September 2009 when Dera againrejected CCALs request in ull.

Simon appealed to the ICO becauseo the urgency and signicance o thehealth risk, breaches o air quality lawsand the prospect o escalating inractionaction rom Europe, but also becausethe materials could provide animportant policy insight.

Though the ICO can take up to threeyears to make decisions, CCALs case wasput through a triage system with the ICOruling in less than a month in avour oull disclosure. Dera lodged an appeal tothe First Tier o the Inormation Tribunaland has since released about 90% othe inormation but claimed litigationprivilege to withhold the last 10%.

Though the Tribunal ruled Dera couldnot claim this privilege at the last minute,Dera have appealed to the Upper Tiero the Tribunal ater Deras barristeradmitted the ruling otherwise meant itdoes not have much o a case let.

Challenges

The appeals system can be very drawnout; it would be better i you could go

to the ICO sooner and they would makequick decisions as they did or CCAL,but it could be dicult to articulate thelegal issues without pro bono legal help.






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Inormation in campaigning,

Final thoughts

CCAL nds it useul topublish FOI responsesthrough an online blog,and now hasover 1,000ollowers on Twitter.Simon sends signicant responseswith a news release to the media andpoliticians, some o whom he hasdeveloped strong relationships with.

For CCAL rather than poking around onthe outside without enough inormation,the campaign has tried to nd out aboutthe real issues. Almost every daynow someone rom the media callsup, asking or quotes or enquiring

about something.

Barristers Gerry Facenna and LauraElizabeth John have helped CCALover the last two years, representingthe campaign at the InormationTribunal and providing legal advice

CCALs case has become a test caseon whether public authorities canraise new points, not least whena case is urgent.While the biggestproblem in the FOI process can be theamount o time the ICO takes to reachdecisions, the Tribunal, in their experienceis relatively ecient and avourabletowards requesters. FOI denitely has alot o benets, CCAL won in ront o theCommissioner and subsequentlygot almost all o the inormation it hadasked or.

CCAL thinks it is important to have alawyer present at a Tribunal and waspleased to be represented by Gerry,Laura and Friends o the Earths Rightsand Justice Team. Gerry and Laurasay the Tribunals rules are airlystraight-orward, though i you have acomplicated case you may want to getsome legal assistance.

The appeals process is not normallyadversarial, but the Tribunal isinquisitorial and will do a lot o cross-examination. There are normally nospecic costs to bear and the Tribunalhas its own internal target o havingappeals done in 6 to 9 months.

There is actually a lot to be gained incampaigning terms by challenging apublic authority i it is stonewalling you,not least because the media can getvery interested in a case, so it is worthcontacting law rms as you will alwaysnd people willing to work at a reducedrate or pro bono i it is or a goodcause.

Gerry Facenna and Laura ElizabethJohn are barristers at MoncktonChambers, which ocuses on EU, humanrights, commercial, VAT and customslaw. They are open to enquiries romcampaigners rom the voluntary andcommunity sector with regard to legaladvice and representation.

Monckton Chambers, 1 & 2 RaymondBuildings, Grays Inn, London. WC1R5NR. DX LDE 257.Tel: +44 (0)20 7405 7211.Fax: +44 (0)20 7405 2084

Website: http://www.monckton.com/Email: [email protected]

41. Unless quotes are reerenced otherwise.42. The Greater London Authority (GLA) state that thehealth study was exempted on the grounds that the dratwas ongoing at the time o the request, that it wastechnical in nature and required a lot o data handling andcontextualisation. Furthermore, The GLA always intendedto publish the health study and the early results wereincluded in the drat Mayors Air Quality Strategy in March2010. GLA also wish to draw attention to a response to aMayors Question regarding the health study in February2010: I expect to publish in the Spring or consultation.http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=30157.The health study was publishedonce the work was complete.43. See Hill, D. Boris Johnson: wheres his air pollutionstudy?, The Guardian Online, 25 June 2010: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2010/jun/24/boris-

johnson-london-air-pollution-study 44. Birkett, S (CCAL) (2010) Response to Mayor Johnson, re:proposed deerral o LEZ, phase 3. Available at: http://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pd45. Brooke, H. (2005) Your Right to Know: A citizens guide to theFreedom of Information Act (London, Pluto Press), pp. 292-293




http://www.monckton.com/http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=30157http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=30157http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2010/jun/24/boris-johnson-london-air-pollution-studyhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2010/jun/24/boris-johnson-london-air-pollution-studyhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2010/jun/24/boris-johnson-london-air-pollution-studyhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.cleanairinlondon.org/_attachments/4561839/CCAL%20097%20Letter%20to%20Mayor%20re%20LEZ3%20240610%20V2.pdfhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2010/jun/24/boris-johnson-london-air-pollution-studyhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2010/jun/24/boris-johnson-london-air-pollution-studyhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/2010/jun/24/boris-johnson-london-air-pollution-studyhttp://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=30157http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=30157http://www.monckton.com/


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Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) works or

the reduction and ultimate abolition o the internationalarms trade, together with progressive demilitarisationwithin arms-producing countries.

CAAT is a network o people based in the UK whorecognise that the arms trade severely undermineshuman rights, security and economic development

at global, regional, national and local levels.www.caat.org.uk

The quotes are taken rom an interview with Ian Prichard,Ann Feltham and Sarah Waldron o CAAT.

p g g

CAAT




http://www.caat.org.uk/http://www.caat.org.uk/


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p g g

CAAT started to use FOI as soon asthe Act came into orce, particularlywith regard to requesting Memorandao Understanding (MOUs) rom theMinistry o Deence (MOD), inormationrom the Export Credits GuaranteeDepartment (ECGD) and les rom theForeign and Commonwealth Oce(FCO), to shed more light on arms deals

to Saudi Arabia.

Ater requests and appeals wererejected by the government and theICO, urther appeals were made to theInormation Tribunal, which were heardthrough two hearings. There were anumber o dierent requests in a wholeresearch ramework, The Saudi dealwas the key deal we really wanted toget stu into the public domain.

CAATs witnesses in one o the hearingsincluded Vince Cable MP and a ormerdiplomat, and CAAT was represented bybarristers.

It took 3 years, the big delay was lacko resources with the ICO, but theybecame quite signifcant cases andoten get reerred to in other cases.

CAAT ound a denite need or legalhelp, particularly in cases when the ICOwas not on their side. Though at therst Tribunal hearing CAAT researcherNicholas Gilby represented himsel,46he was able to gain advice rom theCAAT legal team. He had also done asignicant amount o research. Thegovernment uses very senior lawyers soit would be very daunting to represent

yoursel. CAAT argued or a Special

Advocate to represent it in secrethearings, which was granted.

While the MOUs were not disclosedby the Tribunal, the FCO was orderedto disclose some o the inormation.CAAT described how it was unclear inthe early days o the FOI Act what couldbe disclosed, so they appealed decisionsthrough to the Inormation Tribunal: wetook oreign policy issues that ar.

Following a second Tribunal hearing inwhich CAAT received inormation romthe ECGD, some o the documentsare now proving very useul. Thedocuments allowed CAAT to speak toparliamentarians, make a case abouttheir broader arguments and clariythe law. The requests were also timelyin the context o the Serious FraudOce Investigation o BAE Systems,the company involved in the arms deals,

resulting in widespread media attention.



46. CAAT brought an appeal against the ICO and theMinistry o Deence, while Nicholas Gilby brought a secondappeal in an individual capacity against the ICO and the FCO.




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Almost the greatest threat to thisdepartment is people knowing whatit does. Ian Prichard.

CAAT has issued a steady stream orequests to the UK Trade & InvestmentDeence and Security Organisation(UKTI DSO) in order to build up apicture o its activities, as part o itscampaign to close the unit down.

This was a new department in 2008.Wed campaigned or the closure o itspredecessor, so we wanted to campaignon it straightaway. Though we had askeda lot o parliamentary questions andlooked at published material, there wasno substantial inormation about itswork available.

The inormation gained enabled CAAT

to analyse it vis--vis human rights issuesand FCO policies; concrete examplesare important or eective campaigncommunications. In 2008 we had justtwo pages o inormation on the UKTIDSO, our latest report was 30 pages,which is being sent to our supportersto give to parliamentarians.

One particular request was or thecontent o a speech given by the head othe UKTI DSO at an arms symposium,mentioning high level politicalinterventions the government had madein support o arms sales: we then askedwhen were those interventions, who wasinvolved so one piece o inormation

you didnt necessarily expect to be

useul may send you o in promisingnew directions.

CAAT has appealed some reusals butdoes not always ollow them up, due tothe limited resources o the organisationit takes a long time. The internal reviewcan be a long process our recordwith UKTI DSO is 205 days. The onlyrequests answered in 20 days werereusals and two easy responses with

brie, uncontroversial inormation.I you want an instant media splash itmay not be something to rely on!

CAAT is now getting very useulmaterial. The government wont beable to hold o in the long run in termso providing the inormation.

Challenges

Delays and unnecessary blanket reusalswere major rustrations: They give usthe absolute minimum each time. Onone request which related to arms salesto Libya (a hot news topic at the time),the UKTI took 100 days to respondand only did so ater CAAT asked theInormation Commissioner to intervene.

You have to assume that you mighthave to help the department inhow to respond. Though there aresome signs o improvement withdepartments acknowledging they haveexceeded the time limit and providinginormation earlier, CAAT are still ndinginormation being exempted or noreason, particularly names o seniorpublic ocials and even politicians.






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Final thoughtsCAAT have been able to gain a lot oinormation through using FOI andchannel it into their policy, campaignsand research work. With regard to theabove examples, CAAT made it clearthat they would not have gained mucho this inormation without FOI and

would not have anything to go on.

You can ask ordocuments withinormation redacted,i theyve reused thewhole thing. CAATalso explained how

perhaps the best way toovercome delays is tomake a public issue othe delay, combined withcomplaining to the ICO.

FOI is one o a range o tools, withparliamentary questions and researchas well, choosing which to use isa judgement call based on pastexperience, need and the specicities othe tool. CAAT keep persisting becauseHuge amounts o public money is beingused or something which a lot o peoplewould object to. Its worth getting the

inormation out, and it is newsworthy.In the experience o CAAT, campaignresults depend on gaining a criticalmass o inormation.






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Analysis and conclusions

35 Analysis and conclusions39 FOI challenges and benets

summary table40 Points to consider and FOI

campaign planning diagram41 Experiences o FOI: Comments

44 List o FOIA exemptions45 List o EIR exceptions

Perhaps the most common eature to allthe case studies is how the campaignershave navigated the use o FOI largely ontheir own initiative yet there is a deniteneed or support. This is conrmed bythe survey ndings. While by ar themajority o organisations perceivedFOI to be a powerul campaigning tool,and just over a third believed that FOI

has the potential to be more powerulstill, there was a denite need oundor urther support. The experienceso the case study organisations and thesurvey respondents have enabled us toshed some light on the use o FOI as acampaigning tool and its potential orthe uture.

It is quite clear how powerul atool Freedom o Inormation is in

campaigning, the benefts o whichoutweigh the challenges. For CCAL ithas undamentally changed what thecampaign has been able to achieve,while or The Corner House, Freedomo Inormation is denitely worthwhiledespite the challenges.

For Andrew Cole, Chie Executive o BlissFOI requests are a very powerul tool,but they need to be used in the rightway. This is supported by the surveyndings in that most organisationsperceived the benets to outweigh thechallenges regardless o other actors.Scottish Inormation CommissionerKevin Dunion writes below that FOI

can even tip the balance between thesuccess or ailure o a campaign.

Why use FOI?

Frustration with a lack o progress incampaigning through other means.CCAL, or example, began attemptingto nd inormation and secure changesthrough dialogue and lobbying, whileBliss commissioned an academic

organisation to gather inormation,both experiencing signicant problems.FOI can be extremely eective to gobehind the political rhetoric to seethe true state o aairs47, as HeatherBrooke has argued, and can do sothrough something as simple aswriting a letter.


There are a range o issues that emerge out o the casestudies and the survey, not least the dierent usesFOI has been put to (or a summary o the ollowingconclusions please reer to the Conclusions on a pagesection above) FOI is a powerul, versatile andcomplementary campaigning tool. Both Bliss and

TreeHouse used FOI to survey NHS neonatal unitsand local authorities respectively in order to inormcampaigning activities, while The Corner House,Campaign or Clean Air in London and CampaignAgainst Arms Trade have, arguably, used FOI as acampaigning activity in itsel.

47. Brooke, H. (2005) Your Right to Know: A citizens g uideto the Freedom of Information Act (London, Pluto Press), p. 4



36


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Analysis and conclusions

FOI can be used to build a body oresearch, as well as a way to engagethe media in your campaign. ForBliss and TreeHouse, the inormationgained enabled them to produce well-inormed reports, to eed into policyand campaigns work as well as to gainmedia coverage; Bliss One to onenursing campaign, and the Autism Bill,

respectively. In the midst o an uncertainpolit

Guide to Using FoI in Campaigning

Documents

Transcript of Guide to Using FoI in Campaigning