Publication Schemes Disclosure Logs Natasha N Bodden LLB

Publication Schemes & Disclosure Logs Natasha N. Bodden, LLB FOI Policy Analyst Freedom of Information Unit Cayman Islands Government

Full Publication Schemes n Detailed information about your authority the E-Publication Scheme is a PART of an authority’s complete Publication Scheme n Entire Publication Schemes to be Gazetted by January 2010 n Requires more information about your authority – a very detailed scheme – includes more detail than was required for your E-Publication Scheme

Why have Publication Schemes? n Mandatory to have a Publication Scheme (s. 5 FOI Law) n Important to inform the public about your authority’s functions, role(s), purpose, etc. n Less questions to answer over the phone n Raises staff awareness n Easy and efficient way to make information available to the general public n Information Commissioner can order the publishing of certain info or categories of info (s. 44(2)(a) FOI Law)

Publication Schemes n An on-going process (not finished when submitted) - need to continuously add info such as minutes of meetings, training material n CINA will be issuing guidance on full Publication Schemes in April 2009 n E-Publication Schemes are part of the full Publication Schemes n Benefit of pro-active information disclosures alongside routine releases

To consider for a Publication Scheme n Need a high level of awareness within your authority – have staff identify material for pro-active release n Review information you hold regularly to identify material of wider public interest n Decide whether information released to an applicant should be published at the same time as it may be a benefit to the public at large – but do not publish in your disclosure log before release to an applicant

What is an E-Publication Scheme? n Information on a website about an authority’s: Functions and duties; n Contact details; n Staff members; n Boards and Committees; n Information held; n Information that is already published or available for a fee; n Disclosure logs; and n FOI details (of course!) n

E-Publication Schemes n Reported to Chief Officers – complete or incomplete n As of 1 st February, 2009, only 29 authorities (out of 88) have completed their E-Publication Scheme n Deadline was 2008 to have E-Publication Scheme template completed and submitted n Completion of an E-Publication Scheme will assist with the completion of the full Publication Scheme

What are Disclosure Logs? n A list of FOI requests an authority has received and decisions made relating to these requests n Required by s. 21 FOI (General) Regulations n Must not contain personal information n Advises whether access to the info requested was granted or denied n Information about requests the authority has already received n Lists types of requests received

Why are Disclosure Logs important? n Advises which requests have been received by an authority and whether access to that information has been granted n Gives applicants an idea of the types of information they can access n Saves IM’s time and work as more than one applicant may want the same information and may be able to access the info on-line

Purpose of a Disclosure Log n To make individual releases of information available to the widest possible public audience n Provide a user-friendly source of info n Allows for info released to be accompanied by supporting info, explaining issues (i. e. public interest) in greater depths n Giving the public a greater understanding of the info an authority holds, thus enabling the public to make better informed FOI requests Easy, instant, user-friendly access will benefit both the public and authorities!

Considerations for publishing information n Make sure the info you are about to put in your Scheme does not contain exempted / excluded info (i. e. personal information) n Was the info received from a 3 rd party? If so, are you authorized to publish the info? I. e. is it subject to Copyright? n Has the applicant received a copy of the information prior to publication (where requested)? n Have you received more than 1 request for the same info? Then it can be considered of general interest to the public

Thank you. Any questions?