Transparency and FOI: 20 Years On

In the past few weeks, we have had a stark reminder of why transparency in public life is a democratic necessity. The US Government’s release of millions of documents linked to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation has triggered, amongst other things, the arrest of the King’s brother, the sacking and subsequent arrest of a former Government minister, political jeopardy for the Prime Minister and questions about the future of the British monarchy. In Episode 3, our guest is Maurice Frankel OBE who is the Director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information. We discuss the remarkable story behind the UK’s Freedom of Information Act. From his early work with the campaigner Des Wilson in the 1980s, to the later attacks launched to weaken FOI’s impact, Maurice shares insights on:• Life before the Act and how public authorities’ culture has evolved• The key battles to see the law passed and fully implemented• Lessons from major disclosures, inquiries and data releases• FOI shortcomings, from excessive public interest extensions to the need for proactive publication• Emerging threats to transparencyHear what still inspires one of the UK’s foremost transparency advocates and why FOI remains a vital tool for public accountability. Useful LinksCampaign for Freedom of Information Information Commissioner’s Office This podcast is sponsored by Phaselaw - a purpose-built solution for document disclosures, like subject access requests and FOI requests. Instead of redacting PDFs one by one, or forcing litigation software to do a job it wasn't designed for, with Phaselaw you get collection, review, and redaction in one workflow. Teams across the World are using it to cut response times from weeks to days.For Guardians of Data listeners, Phaselaw is offering a two-month free trial; run it on live requests, see what it does to your backlog, decide from there. No card, no commitment.