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Martin Rosenbaum

@mrosenbaum.bsky.social

Freedom of information expert & consultant. Honorary Research Fellow, Birkbeck College politics dept. Author, 'Freedom of Information: A practical guidebook', http://amzn.to/3L2tuKi. ExBBC political journalist & radio producer. https://rosenbaum.org.uk/

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Martin Rosenbaum@mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 2w ago

A reminder you can listen to my podcast interview with Ibrahim Hasan of Act Now Training - we discussed how journalists use FOI, tactics for requesting, how the law should be improved, fighting tribunal cases, and some of my favourite stories ... actnowtraining.blog/2026/05/27/n...

New Podcast: Learning from a Journalist’s Use of FOI

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) is an essential tool for the journalist seeking to  hold public institutions to account. But for those handling FOI requests from journalists, the challeng…

actnowtraining.blog

Martin Rosenbaum@mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 3w ago

The ICO's annual report out today also confirms how the under-resourced FOI side of the operation (funded directly by govt) is seriously struggling to cope with its substantially increasing caseload, which the ICO thinks is probably due to use of AI

At the end of 2025/26 our caseload was 3,505 (2024/25: 1,466), the highest level historically. The previous peak had been that associated with COVID-19 in 2021-22, when we finished the year with 2,227 cases in the caseload. This is a direct result of the significant rise in new cases we’ve received over the course of the last 12 months, which has also caused a significant increase in the time it takes to allocate a case to a case officer over the course of the year (currently 35 weeks in March 2026 compared with 16 weeks in 2025).
Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland@cfoiscot.bsky.social · last mo.

Nominations for the 2026 Helen Darbishire Award are invited to celebrate those who use access 2 information rights to advance human rights, the rule of law, transparency & government accountability, anti-corruption efforts, or environmental protection. @nujscotland.bsky.social

Application and Nomination Form

The Helen Darbishire Award recognises those who have significantly leveraged their right of access to information to advance human rights, the rule of law, transparency and government accountability, ...

docs.google.com

Martin Rosenbaum@mrosenbaum.bsky.social · last mo.

For those, like me, who fall in the Venn diagram intersection of interest in both parkrun and data protection, there’s an interesting tale in Paul Sinton-Hewitt’s book - he got out of the S African armed forces as he had the legal right to inspect his own military records at his barracks

Here I was, an Australian in the pay of the South African Defence Force, with documentation to prove it should never have been allowed to happen. I was exempt.
Martin Rosenbaum@mrosenbaum.bsky.social · last mo.

V interesting piece based on international comparisons - oversight of FOI etc matters enormously, no system is perfect - "Courts are often expensive and slow, ombudspeople are cheap or free but non-binding, information commissioners are effective but under-resourced."

Julia Cushion@juliacushion.bsky.social · last mo.

Organisation merch goals right?! This week our friends at SPOON in the Netherlands hosted our annual ATI Network day. We discussed what's helping (and hindering) freedom of information in practice, and why effective oversight matters just as much as having a good law.

Martin Rosenbaum@mrosenbaum.bsky.social · last mo.

The ICO's latest quarterly performance report reveals that it is now taking over 9 months just to allocate non-priority FOI complaints (the large majority) to a case officer! This is clearly a terrible state of affairs that frustrates the proper working of the FOI system.

"It is now taking us more than 9 months to allocate non-priority cases, up from 6 months last quarter. This will continue to rise through 2026/27 and we expect to remain out of target for a prolonged period."
Martin Rosenbaum@mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 2mo ago

John Edwards has resigned this morning as Information Commissioner, accepting that his position is now untenable. And he's promptly updated his LinkedIn profile - if you've got a job that would suit a former Information Commissioner, he says he's opentowork

His LinkedIn headshot
Martin Rosenbaum@mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The ICO says the workplace investigation into the Info Commissioner John Edwards (who has stepped back from his role since late Feb) has found that he has 'a case to answer'. Edwards 'will now be temporarily unable to act in fulfilling his responsibilities'. What happens next is up to DSIT.

Martin Rosenbaum@mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The ICO has just issued another enforcement notice against the Ministry of Defence due to its excessive FOI delays and "recurring volume of overdue requests". The notice says: "It is the responsibility of the MOD as an organisation as a whole to ensure that sufficient resources are in place".