Ark Group's Freedom of Information in the Public Sector report clarifies the grey areas of legislation and compliance issues and will provide you with case studies, strategies and processes for reviewing and developing successful FOI management schemes.

The report covers:

• Issues which arise when answering FOI requests which require disclosure of personal data that must be made anonymous, particularly where the sample size is small;
• The background of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). Including the similarities and differences between EIR and FOI in terms of bodies covered, procedure, cost limits and reviews;
• Proactive publication. Publication schemes, disclosure logs and the definition document, are considered as well as how organisations can ensure the information they proactively provide can be accessed and searched by citizens in a convenient way;
• The cultural issues around freedom of information;
• Focusing on the positive aspects of information disclosure;
• How academics work with FOI, as well as considering how journalists and politicians have been known to exploit FOI to reveal "juicy" stories; and
• Re-use of public sector information.

Since 1 January 2005 the Information Commissioner has issued over 1,000 decision notices under FOI and EIR, and the Information Tribunal has published nearly 200 decisions. Valuable analysis is provided for some of the key decisions relating to issues such as:

• Definition of a public body;
• Offering advice and assistance;
• Applying charges;
• Vexatious requests; and
• Exemptions.

Consideration is also given to the extent to which organisations can rely upon such precedent in rejecting requests.

All the information is provided in the context of real examples including contributions from Cardiff Council; DEFRA; London Borough of Tower Hamlets; Welsh Institute for Social and Cultural Affairs, Bangor University; Office of Public Sector Information; and Leicester City Council.