Council improves responses to information requests - after 'unacceptable failure'

A local council has significantly improved its transparency by increasing Freedom of Information request response rates from previous unacceptable failures to near-complete compliance in early 2025. This progress demonstrates a commitment to openness despite handling a higher volume of inquiries, signaling a structural shift toward greater accountability and public trust in local governance. This development is highly relevant to open data advocates because it highlights the critical gap between legal mandates for transparency and actual institutional performance. It underscores the necessity of ongoing monitoring and public pressure to ensure that government bodies not only possess data but also effectively release it to citizens, reinforcing the principle that access to information is a fundamental democratic right rather than an optional courtesy.

Source: yorkpress.co.uk
Published on 2024-08-31