Our AGM (always as short-and-sweet as we can make it) was followed by a talk from Richard Holt.
Richard is a member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) and came to talk to us about Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for genealogists.
The presentation covered:
Basic principles of FOIA
How to make a request
Types of information
What to do if an authority does not comply with FOIA
It was noted that patience might be required!
FOIA is the right to access recorded information held by public authorities, irrespective of the date of that information, unless an exemption applies and there is no overriding public interest in disclosure.
Public authorities are defined in Section 3 of the Act as, for example, government
departments, local government, maintained schools, police, other public bodies and publicly
funded museums, galleries and theatres.
There are many reasons why a public body may refuse a request:
It is accessible from other means
It is personal
For reasons of national security
Court records
Prohibited from disclosure under other legislation
The cost
However, after time information becomes a historical record and certain exemptions cease to apply.
Richard noted that there is a Code of Practice for managing information, its storage and retrieval. Public Authorities should have retention schedules. Once disclosed on request the information is considered to be available to the general public. Anyone can make a request for information whether written and printed, computer files, letters, emails, photos or sound/video recordings. This includes CCTV recordings.
Requests should be made in writing by letter or email and there is no need to specifically mention FOIA. The request must contain the enquirer’s name, contact details and can be just by email. Richard advised keeping copies of all correspondence. The request should be specific, and general questions should be avoided, and requests should specify the format for the response.
After making a request the enquirer may expect an acknowledgement and may be asked for clarification or advice on narrowing the request. A response should be expected in 20 days, but this can be extended in certain circumstances. An enquirer should also be told of their rights e.g. to seek an internal review or to make a complaint to Information Commissioners Office (ICO).
In circumstances where there is a failure to comply the enquirer should prompt the authority or ask for clarification or seek an internal review. Further action can be taken, for example referral to ICO, a first tier Tribunal, referral to an Upper tier Tribunal and ultimately the Court of Appeal.
Richard talked through some helpful case studies and finally stated that the golden rule is ‘don’t trust the transcription’ but look at the original source document or a copy of that document.