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Dave Millier View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dave Millier Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Mar 2008 at 2:09pm
I take your point but it's worth remembering that politicians did voluntarily bring in the FoI Act. 

I work in a team of people that are responsible amongst other things for administering FoI in my organisation. The everyday consequences of the Act are fascinating.

Did you know for example, that anyone making any kind of request for information from a public sector body has their request assessed to see if it constitutes an  FoI request (you don't have to apply under FoI, it is the responsibility of Civil Servants to decide whether a request is covered by FoI).

If it is decided it is an FoI request, complex procedures have to be invoked to properly register and record the request, it goes into a monitoring system intended to ensure the request is properly dealt with under the legislation, it has to be assigned to a senior manager, someone has to dig out the information, it has to sent under strict procedures, follow up actions are required to ensure the applicant has been satisfied, statistics have to be produced etc etc.

Did you also know that the majority of FOI requests are not from investigative journalists hot on the trail of a scandal but from nutty old ladies. A typical FoI request might be something like: How many waste paper bins are currently in use in Dept XYZ, what is the breakdown of makes and models and the average life before replacement over the last 75 years....

And we have no option under the legislation but to provide the answers within 20 days.

I think the FoI act is a good thing for the UK but I have to say that for those worried about where their taxes are spent and those who have to comply with the Act, the sheer number of vexatious lunatics amongst the general population is a nightmare...


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Mar 2008 at 2:38pm
Hi Dave,
 
Yes, I am aware of  most of the procedures. Before becoming self employed, I was a manager in a local authorityCry . I underwent full training, then sat back and received the wierd and wonderful queries.
 
But, of all the people who should be see through/lilly white it should be the politicians and law makers. I believe we have seen only the tip of the proverbial so far. And surely they should pay for their own appeal?
 
Any way back to sticky black plastic..............
 
Oh! and advertising standards....... Strange isn't it how many people are sucked into believing hypeShocked But then again, look how many are fiddled out of their life savings by various scamsConfused
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Mar 2008 at 3:43pm
"the sheer number of vexatious lunatics amongst the general population is a nightmare..."

Are you referring to the press here?

They never seem to report the things that have real impact - probably being spoon fed by the State (such a pity many don't realise that the BBC - a private independent company previously - was taken over by Churchill for government propaganda purposes...)

Anyway, an interesting snippet from an MP's book: I'd never heard this on the news...

"iodine (0.2ppm) Needed for our normal growth and development, most of our iodine is found in the thyroid and other life control centres. Like most good things, too much causes problems. Remember how a dab of iodine used to hurt - it may have killed bacteria but it also caused tissue damage. Fifty years on, another stinging secret is out: a Ministry of Defence experiment to seed rain clouds with iodine had catastrophic results for Lynmouth, on the Devon coast, in 1952."

From the book "The Bellamy Herbal" by David Bellamy BSc. PhD. Hon DSc, DUniv, FLS. OBE

Is the mist fading yet?


Edited by Graham Slee - 30 Mar 2008 at 3:45pm
That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps
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Dave Millier View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dave Millier Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Mar 2008 at 3:48pm
My own long serving boss retired recently, following a campaign/scandal about his travel expenses in Private Eye and various newspapers. 

The information that was used by the journalists to fuel the campaign was supplied to them under FoI but also voluntarily supplied by us as part of a determined effort to be transparent and accountable.

It was quite interesting to see how the information was abused by journalists who knew exactly what they were doing.  The boss has already voluntarily submitted his expenses to independent scrutiny and review and been thoroughly cleared of any breach of rules or regulations.  But the spin the journalists put on the story and their relentless campaign to discredit him was as dishonest and unseemly in my opinion as it was ultimately effective.

Some good came out of the affair as new legislation is being enacted to tighten up the rules and improve our corporate governance but at some cost to an individual who had broken no rules, abused no rights etc etc but just happened to become this month's target of a cynical journalist after improved circulation figures.

The press is at least as bad, if not worse, than the people they purport to expose, IMO.  The fact that the Hifi reviewing is not a credible source of information to consumers is hardly a surprise to me.

The Peter Belt thing is interesting as a barometer, I think. You can read his forums if you want some entertainment. Whilst his own advertising and claims are transparent baloney that gets more and more ridiculous with every passing year and every new product, it's his fanatical acolytes that amaze me.

These people are shovelling money his way by the bucket load and really buying into the nonsense. 

One of the best threads I saw was an earnest discussion between fans about the proper use of one his products (Electret Fluid or some such sillyness). Apparently, this stuff - which costs even more than Epson ink per mil - has to be added to the water supply to improve the vibes of the house or something.  The thread spent a lot of time worrying about whether the fluid that was added to the outside drainpipes would be diluted by winter rains and whether a seasonal top up was de rigeur. 

I kid you not, there are "audiophiles" out there who are completely, utterly, barking...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dave Millier Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Mar 2008 at 3:54pm
I wasn't referring to the press in this instance but ordinary folk, usually elderly, usually retired, with a bee in their bonnet about some issue and too much time on their hands.

They have little understanding about how the everyday business of government actually works, and for some reason feel the need to prevent ordinary junior civil servants (you know, school leavers in their first jobs, filing clerks etc) from doing useful work by tying their time up responding to pointless silly and vexatious requests for information that do no one any good.

As for my opinions about the press, see my other post.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Mar 2008 at 3:55pm
"I kid you not, there are "audiophiles" out there who are completely, utterly, barking..."

More than you think....Hug
That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dave Millier Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Mar 2008 at 4:02pm
Originally posted by Graham Slee Graham Slee wrote:

"the sheer number of vexatious lunatics amongst the general population is a nightmare..."

From the book "The Bellamy Herbal" by David Bellamy BSc. PhD. Hon DSc, DUniv, FLS. OBE



Is that the famous Tv presenter David Bellamy, the naturalist, who has been sacked as president of various enviromental pressure groups as a result of his global warming denying?
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