Index raises concerns over UK Freedom of Information
We join media freedom organisations, editors and broadcasters in calling for an urgent review of right-to-know legislation
09 Feb 2021
The Right Honourable Julian Knight MP, Chair, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
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The Right Honourable Michael Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Right Honourable Chloe Smith, Minister for the Cabinet Office
Dunja Mijatovic, Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner
Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression
Elizabeth Denham, UK Information Commissioner
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon; UK Foreign Office
The editors of the Guardian, Financial Times, Times, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror have joined together in a rare show of unity urging the Government to look at reform to protect Freedom of Information (FoI) rights.
A dozen current and former Fleet Street editors have joined a call for a review into the Government’s use of FoI, raising “serious concerns” their policies are contributing to a culture of declining press freedom in the UK.
They have been joined by staunch critics of the newspaper industry such as Hacked Off founder Brian Cathcart and founder of rival press regulator Impress Jonathan Heawood.
National Trust Director General Hilary McGrady said: “We are at a crossroads. It is just nine months until world leaders meet in Glasgow at COP26 to tackle the climate crisis that is devastating our natural world, home and abroad.
“Nature is in decline, homes for wildlife are vanishing before our eyes and some of our most special and significant historical places are being exposed to extreme weather events like never before.
“We can mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis though. Planting more trees and woodland, making sure our uplands and lowlands can cope with extreme rainfall – these are things that will help prevent the devastating flooding experienced by large sections of the country this year.
We, the undersigned, express our deep concern about the latest proposals for the expansion of Permitted Development Rights in England.
These proposals will lower housing standards and accessible natural green infrastructure provision, extinguish local democracy, and end public participation. Communities and their local councils have simply lost control of many of the forms of development that matter most to them.
Permissions for over one million new homes are already in place but not built out according to the Local Government Association. There is little case to be made that the current system does not deliver consent for development.
Existing permitted development rights have resulted in what the Government’s own report has called poor quality homes. Much less funding is going to local authorities as a result of these changes. Councillors and MPs across the spectrum have voiced their deep concern at the size, quality, amenity, design, location and climate change implicatio
Credit: peter byrne/pa
SIR – Here in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight the vaccine rollout was going really well, but it had to stop because it had got ahead of other parts of the country and the Government would not supply more vaccine.
To use the kind of wartime analogy favoured by the Prime Minister, this is like travelling in a convoy: you move at the speed of the slowest ship.
I thought that avoiding this sort of situation would be one of the advantages of leaving the EU.
Jamie Sheldon
SIR – My 88-year-old father with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has not yet had the vaccine, since his local surgery did not receive any until this week.