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Cambridgeshire County Council Not Building Their Own WhatDoTheyKnow
On Thursday the 19th of May 2011 I visited Cambridgeshire County Council’s offices with Kings Hedges councillor Andy Pellew. Cllr Pellew had heard that the council were developing their own version of mySociety’s freedom of information website, WhatDoTheyKnow.com and on asking what was going on had been offered a meeting with the relevant officers. Cllr […]
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8.5 Percent of Freedom of Information Requests to Central Government Made Via WhatDoTheyKnow.com
With the help of other members of the team who look after mySociety’s Freedom of Information (FOI) site WhatDoTheyKnow.com I have used statistics released by the Ministry of Justice to look at the proportion of FOI requests being made via the site. In the first quarter of 2009 8.5% of all requests made to central […]
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Richard Taylor
Previously:
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Tragic Circumstances Surrounding Crime Reporter Raymond Brown’s Court Appearance
On Monday the 12th of August 2019 I attended Cambridge Magistrate’s Court where Raymond Brown, who served as Cambridge’s crime reporter for many years, was due to face trial following an allegation of possession of a controlled substance. I thought it was worth seeking to observe the hearing as I was interested in seeing if, […]
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Basic Failure of Open Justice at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court
On Monday the 12th of August 2019 I attended Cambridge Magistrates’ court to observe proceedings, with a view to reporting on them if anything newsworthy took place. I was not able to obtain information which I understand I was entitled to and which I felt I needed both to decide which cases to observe and […]
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Urging NHS England’s Chief Operating Officer To Increase Transparency in the NHS
On the 24th of October 2017 I got the opportunity take my local campaigning for more openness and transparency in the NHS right to the top of the organisation. Fellow Cambridge based activist Sam Smith had written to Matthew Swindells, one of NHS England’s directors, and effectively the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer, introducing him to […]
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Addenbrooke’s 99.9% Full – Chief Exec Bans Filming Governors Meeting
Ever watched a meeting of your local hospital governors online? This might explain why you haven’t! The Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Addenbrooke’s) Council of Governors met on the 22nd of February 2017. A report to the meeting from Chief Executive Roland Sinker stated bed occupancy levels at the hospital were at 99.9% and […]
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Changes to Riverside Near Stourbridge Common
At Cambridge’s East Area Committee on the 28th of January 2016 local resident Tony Eva used the public speaking slot to reveal a previously secret consultation with residents about the future of Riverside in Cambridge. I think debates and decisions about changes to public space in Cambridge should be public and shouldn’t involve just immediate […]
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Challenges Filming and Reporting on Cambridge City Council Despite New Law
Since the 6th of August 2014 a right to film, photograph or make an audio recording of proceedings at a local government meeting in the UK has been established in law. In November 2014 Cambridge City Councillors unanimously agreed to update their constitution in light of the new law. Cambridgeshire County Council’s stance on filming […]
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The Role of Cambridge City Council Executive Councillors
The leader of Cambridge City Council, Labour’s Lewis Herbert, has offered to speak to me about the role of “Executive Councillors” in Cambridge. I am writing this article in advance of our discussion; after we’ve spoken I will provide an update below. Role of Executive Councillors Each of the seven councillors who are members of […]