Arses and Elbows - How Government Works

Lesson 1 - Pass legislation that no-one can comply with From Today's Scotsman:- PUBLIC bodies that consistently fail to comply with Freedom of Information legislation are to be named and shamed as part of a crackdown on the way they operate, The Scotsman can reveal. Amid a rising level of complaints about councils, police forces and other authorities not responding to demands for data, Kevin Dunion, Scotland's Information Commissioner, is to launch an inquiry into their performance. Those public bodies which do not meet strict targets will be identified and, in cases where they are guilty of extreme negligence, enforcement powers will be used to implement change. ............................... But an increasing number of organisations are failing to comply with the law. Among those held by Mr Dunion to be culpable on at least one occasion since the act was introduced are the Scottish Executive, the Strathclyde, Tayside and Grampian police forces, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, the Crown Office, Audit Scotland, Scottish Water, the Scottish Prison Service and 14 councils, including Edinburgh and Glasgow.

(OH DEAR, OH DEAR - and what could the reason be for these failures?)

One public official said he was not even able to look at requests within 20 working days. "It is impossible. I've got a massive pile to go through and the boss refuses to pay for anyone else to help out," he said. ...............................................................

(BUT THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER WON'T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT ALL THAT):-

With complaints running at twice the highest predicted level, the commissioner's own team is struggling to fulfil its role as enforcers. After the body failed to meet its target of settling appeals within four months in one fifth of all cases, the commissioner, who has a budget of £1.2 million, is to hire an extra three investigators and will call on the Scottish Parliament for more funding.

So, let's see if I understand this. The Public Bodies don't have the resources to comply with the legislation. The Commissioner has failed to do his job properly because of lack of resources - but he's applying for more resources so that he can 'name and shame' the bodies who don't have the resources.

Nice one.