[wdmmg-discuss] Interesting rejection of a FOI request

Tue Jul 13 22:29:53 UTC 2010

This is the sort of response I got for COINS.

Section 35(2) says once they've made up their mind on the policy, they
should release the information.  Holding onto it just because it is
not complete (and may never be complete) is not good enough.

Do they have a time-frame when it will be complete, and when the
information can be released?  Then what about the 07-08 accounts?

Julian.

On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 9:54 PM, Lisa Evans <lisa.evans at okfn.org> wrote:
>
> I should also add that the WGA is stored in COINS, but none of the WGA was
> included in the COINS publication.
>
> On Tue, 13 Jul 2010, Lisa Evans wrote:
>
>> The whole of government accounts (WGA) has been running every year, for 10
>> years, and during this time the public have seen exactly zero results from
>> the exercise.
>>
>> The WGA gives a very detailed picture of the financial health of every
>> government funded body -- so clearly would be really useful to where does my
>> money go.
>>
>> I was told by the small team at the Communities and Local Government that
>> the WGA 2008/09 is sitting in the Treasury. I was also told that two
>> departments failed the WGA audit (the department of health and the ministry
>> of defense), which led to none of it being published.
>>
>> So I asked for that report (minus the results for the two departments that
>> failed the audit):
>>
>>
>> http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/whole_of_government_accounts_200#incoming-99856
>>
>> The rejection I got was unlike anything else I have received.
>>
>> They have the information I requested, but the reponse when to on say:
>>
>> "Ministers and officials need space in which to develop policy, including
>> space for the development of policy through an interative process of testing
>> and refining ideas. This process could be weakened if information was
>> released prematurely or when proposals where not finalised, as this could
>> lead to poorer decision-making".
>>
>> Any suggestions for how to proceed are most welcome.
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>
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