Blog
News and views on correspondence case management, FOI, Information rights and more
Reaction: ICO confirms investigation into gov use of personal email
Recently we wrote a short blog on the use of personal email in government and its impact on transparency and we now welcome the fact that the ICO is opening up an investigation into its use.
Increasingly, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seems to have been viewed by some politicians as an obstacle or a hindrance rather than a tool for transparency where citizens are able to understand how their country is run and where their taxes are being spent. To name a couple of examples, the new ‘Advanced Research & Invention Agency’ (ARIA)has been exempted from the FOIA, whilst David Cameron backtracked on promising to be one of the most transparent governments, to claiming FOI as being one of the ‘clutteration’ and ‘buggeration’ factors that impeded the process of governing.
Whilst many of us may accidentally use our personal email addresses instead of work addresses, recently leaked Department of Health meeting minutes alleged that the former health secretary, Matt Hancock, only deals with his Private Office via Gmail. If this is true, then we have to ask why someone would choose to completely avoid using their work email in favour of their personal email address, particularly when it is going to make the work of civil servants in the FOI field much harder.
Correspondence via personal email channels is much easier to ‘lose’, ‘delete’, or ‘misplace’. Whilst there may be a good reason for using personal email channels, the overriding feeling and wider speculation is that it is done to avoid any form of scrutiny.
Upon opening the investigation, Elizabeth Denham, UK Information Commissioner, confirmed that using personal email doesn’t break any current FOI or Data Protection rules:
“To be clear, the use of private correspondence channels does not in itself break freedom of information or data protection rules. But my worry is that information in private email accounts or messaging services is forgotten, overlooked, autodeleted or otherwise not available when a freedom of information request is later made.”
This is perhaps a flaw in the FOIA that needs addressing, and may well be addressed following the results of the ICO investigation. It could well be that there is nothing sinister in the former health secretary’s use of his personal email address, but by allegedly using it exclusively, it creates a clear barrier to FOI investigation and transparency.
The results of the ICO’s investigation into this are very important as it would, on the surface seem to represent a potentially concerted effort to block transparency and undermine democracy.
Elizabeth Denham goes on to describe transparency as 'fundamental' to democracy as, only with this can we truly trust those making decisions. We hope that any findings are backed by actions and recommendations that will ensure transparency and trust are maintained.
About eCase
eCase is the correspondence case management service the public sector relies on. Used by over 50% of pan-UK Central Government departments, it is the most scalable, proven, and comprehensive service available.
Easy & Assured, Efficient & Compliant.
Recent posts
eCase FOI Quarterly - September 2021
Register for our new series of webinars for practitioners.
Requester Blind - Principle and Practice
Tuesday 14th September, 11am - Midday
Using examples from real-world cases they’ve worked on, our expert panel will look at the Requester Blind principle and how to interpret and apply it.
The State of FOI in Local Government
Tuesday 21st September, Midday - 1pm
Following eCase's exclusive research report on the state of FOI in local government, inspired by Lynn Wyeth's doctoral research, our panel will examine the findings, the hallmarks of success and how to get there
Managing EIRs
Thursday 30th September, Midday - 1pm
With examples from real world cases, our expert panel will examine what Environmental Information is, how to recognise EIRs, handling mixed requests, the complexities encountered with managing EIRs and how to tackle them.
Talk to us
eCase is used by the Ministry of Defence, HM Treasury, HMRC, DWP, DCMS and more.
Find out how eCase can help you and why it is the correspondence case management service the public sector relies on.
- Used across central government, local government and police forces
- Secure UK-based hosting, accredited to OFFICIAL level
- Crown Commercial Service supplier, available through G-Cloud
Data Protection
The information that you give us and any contact will only be used by Fivium within the scope of fulfilling your request. We won’t share your information with any third party.