‘It's the tip of the iceberg’: the hidden tensions between theory, policy and practice in the management of Freedom of Information in English local government bodies—evidence from a regional study

Richter, Paul; Wilson, R. G.

doi:10.1080/09540962.2013.785702

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…However, the low response rate demonstrates how brittle the program logic of FOI may be in practice . While there is impressive evidence of a willingness to move beyond the law once a request is responded to, there may be serious difficulties with the area of minimal or less than minimal compliance (Richter and Wilson 2013). A complex mixture of technical and resource obstacles, not least the reliance of parishes on voluntary part-time administrators, can act as a powerful brake on the openness of a system at the point of a request arriving (Hunt 2010).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wilson 2013). The concordance is likely to be mutually reinforcing as a growing commitment to the principles of openness and shifting information flows within public bodies work together, a change identified in other local government studies in the UK(Richter and Wilson 2010;Burt and Taylor 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Other studies of FOI point to support and awareness of the law as a good predictor of more open behaviour in the future: so past openness should predict current levels(Hazell et al 2010: Richter andWilson 2013). Measuring this is problematic so a series of proxy measures were used, namely whether a parish already published a publication scheme and other data such as meetings or expenses(Hazell et al 2010, ICO 2014.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Transparency at the Parish Pump: A Field Experiment to Measure the Effectiveness of Freedom of Information Requests in England

Worthy

John

Vannoni

2016

JOPART

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We would like to thank UCL and Birkbeck for financial support and all the participants at the 4th Global Transparency Conference 2015 (Lugano) and the ECPR General Conference 2015 (Montreal) for their help and ideas. We would also like to express our gratitude to the three anonymous reviewers and editor and, in particular, to all the clerks at parish councils who responded to our requests and were kind enough to offer their help, thoughts and guidance.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 89%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transparency at the Parish Pump: A Field Experiment to Measure the Effectiveness of Freedom of Information Requests in England

Worthy

John

Vannoni

2016

JOPART

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“…The time-consuming demand for information through FOIA applications is unpredictable by nature (Ross and Whittaker, 2009) and that unpredictability can hamper efforts to resource a workload that is constantly changing (Shepherd and Ennion, 2007). A study of U.K. local government implementation reported on a local authority where FOIA requests had greatly increased which the respondent claimed was 'hard to manage and we're finding it very hard to meet the 20 day target' (Richter and Wilson, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilising the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000 for crime record data

Johnson

Hampson²

2015

Records Management Journal

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Purpose – This research paper aims to consider the use of the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) as a resource providing access to otherwise unavailable data from the UK Police forces. Not seeking to be a critical examination of Police practice, it offers insight to many aspects of records management appertaining to the police service provision of recorded crime. Authors consider whether record management is sufficiently integrated into police practice, given the transparency called for by the FOIA, contemporary societal needs and the growing requirement to provide high value evidence led assessments of activity both within and external to the service. Design/methodology/approach – FOIA was utilised to collect data from all police forces in England and Wales through multiple requests. Carried out over a 15-month period, three requests were collated and responses compared, allowing for examination of compliance with the legislation and reflections on the manner in which records were sought and ultimately disseminated. Findings – Generally, responding to FOIA requests was well managed by English Police Forces. Methods of data management and collection practice were exposed which the authors suggest pose questions on the strength of records management consideration that may be worthy of further work. Configuration management of records is highlighted as an essential function given the disparity of data releases experienced. Research limitations/implications – This research highlights the FOIA as a valuable methodological tool for academic researchers, but it is limited in respect of seeking firm contextual explanation of the Police internal procedures to answer requests. By making common requests over a long time period to the same Police forces, it provides a clear study of FOIA processes and raises potentially significant questions for records management consideration. Practical implications – Findings provide advice on developing use of the FOIA as an academic methodological resource and reflect on the findings impact on internal police use of data and information records. Originality/value – This paper allows for reflection on the importance of high-value records management in the day-to-day business of the police service and questions whether such knowledge areas are suitably considered. Covering an area of little previous academic enquiry, the research informs criminal justice practitioners of areas for potential further discussion and academic researchers on the validity of using the FOIA as a valuable information source.

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“…Mill espoused the need for institutions to ensure that law‐abiding, democratically engaged citizens are well‐informed. According to Richter and Wilson (), such institutions are part of the “information commons” that underpins democratic governance, and Kooper et al (, p. 195) ascribe them the role of “establishing an environment and opportunities, rules and decision making rights for the valuation, creation, collection, analysis, distribution, storage, use, and control of information,” which they call information governance . Public information agencies make decisions about the control of public information and usually play a core departmental function (Peters & Bouckaert, ).…”

Section: The Case Of Public Information Agenciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Values in the Age of Big Data: A Public Information Perspective

Ingrams¹

2018

Policy & Internet

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Public administration scholars have so far largely viewed big data as a kind of technocratic transformation. However, through citizens’ digital records, use of service apps, social media, digital sensors, and other digital footprints, big data also gives policymakers insights into citizen choices and is therefore potentially supportive of public values such as participation and openness. Focusing on two underexplored countries, Germany and the Netherlands, this article develops a public values framework for big data that considers citizen values alongside technocratic ones. It takes the particular case of public information agencies such as ombudsmen and courts of audit, examining the functions they play and whether they have the capacity to address tensions arising between technocratic and citizen values. The study finds that, while capacity does exist, it is heavily tilted toward technocratic values, with no capacity to address participative values. Finally, five propositions are advanced, which describe where the tensions lie and therefore where the attention of public information agencies should best be focused.

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‘It's the tip of the iceberg’: the hidden tensions between theory, policy and practice in the management of Freedom of Information in English local government bodies—evidence from a regional study

Cited by 13 publications

References 24 publications

Transparency at the Parish Pump: A Field Experiment to Measure the Effectiveness of Freedom of Information Requests in England

Transparency at the Parish Pump: A Field Experiment to Measure the Effectiveness of Freedom of Information Requests in England

Utilising the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000 for crime record data

Public Values in the Age of Big Data: A Public Information Perspective

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