As a follow up to the Spy Blog article
Where are all the Home Office press releases ? 177 spin doctors but only 5 press releases a week ?
another WhatDoTheyKnow.com FOIA request has been submitted to the Home Office:
Press Office output for week of Mon 9th Feb 2009
A Freedom of Information request to Home Office by Watching Them, Watching Us
Currently waiting for a response from Home Office, they must respond promptly but no later than 18 March 2009.
Watching Them, Watching Us
17 February 2009
Home Office, Direct Communications Unit, 2 Marsham Street, London
SW1P 4DFE-mail: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk
via : http://www.whatdotheyknow.com
Tuesday 17th February 2009
Dear Sirs,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please disclose:
===========
The full output of the Home Office Press Office, for the week
starting Monday 9th February 2009i.e. all Press Releases, briefing notes, "lines to take", notes or
minutes of meetings or phone conversations with journalists or
media organisations, media packs, etc. sent by email, fax, telex,
letter post or by courier etc.===========
Please provide the information, ideally by publishing it on your
public world wide website, or alternatively by email.Ideally this should *not* be in the form of a copy and paste locked
Adobe .pdf file, or similar, attachment.In the unlikely event that this information is not already
available in a standard electronic format, then please explain the
reasons why, when you provide the information in another format.If you are proposing to make a charge for providing the information
requested, please provide full details in advance, together with an
explanation of any proposed charge.If you decide to withhold any of the information requested, you
should clearly explain why you have done so in your response, by
reference to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 legislation.If your decision to withhold is based upon an evaluation of the
Public Interest, for a Qualified Exemption, then you should clearly
explain which public interest(s) you have considered, and why you
have decided that the public interest in maintaining the
Exemption(s) outweighs the public interest in releasing the
information.If you decide to conduct a Balance of Public Interest evaluation,
you need to estimate any additional time which might be required,
and to inform me of this in your Substantive Reply, within the
mandatory statutory limit of 20 working days for you to respond to
this Freedom of Information Act request.Under Section 16 the Freedom of Information Act, you have a duty to
provide help and advice, as to how this current request may need to
be modified, if necessary.I look forward to receiving the information requested as soon as
possible, and in any event, within the statutory 20 working days
from receipt of this email i.e. no later than Wednesday 11th March
2009Yours faithfully,
Watching Them, Watching Us
Will this FOIA request actually reveal that the official Civil Service Press Office machinery is being sidelined and ignored by Home Office Ministers and their NuLabour Special Political Advisors ?
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