Government gazettes its updated information
(CNS): An updated version of government information which is generally available to the public has been published this week in the Government Gazette. The 700 plus page document is part of the obligation under the Freedom of Information Law of all public authorities to maintain a publication scheme. The document is supposed to make information readily available to the public to prevent the need for written freedom of information requests and to encourage public authorities to proactively publish information and develop a culture of openness.
The document lists information which is readily available from the members of boards to the policies and procedures of the various departments.
The publication scheme does not include the documents that public authorities have disclosed as a result of Freedom of Information requests.
Every public authority is supposed to publish the documents revealed to the public via freedom of information requests in a disclosure log on their websites. However, there are still several government entities that have not yet developed a website and the majority of public authorities that have a website are still not updating their disclosure logs or making the information accessible to the public.
See the full 2012 publication scheme document here
Category: FOI
Can Government also be persuaded to answer the phone, return phone calls perhaps. That in itself would be a giant leap in the information highway.