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Martin Rosenbaum

@mrosenbaum.bsky.social

2.8K followers 660 following 240 posts

Freedom of information expert & consultant. Honorary Research Fellow, Birkbeck College politics dept. Author, 'Freedom of Information: A practical guidebook', http://amzn.to/3L2tuKi. ExBBC political journalist & radio producer. https://rosenbaum.org.uk/

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · Jan 10

Since my recent revelations using FOI seem to have sparked some interest here, this seems like a good time to say that if you also want to use FOI effectively, I recommend you buy my book: 'Freedom of Information: A practical guidebook' www.amazon.co.uk/Freedom-Info...

Front cover of 'Freedom of Information: A practical guidebook'

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 13h

I also looked at what the latest @britishelectionstudy.com data tells us about the leisure activities of different party supporters, and this was the most striking comparison - Reform voters are much less likely to get their news from the BBC
rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/politics-p...

Only 44% of Reform voters said they had watched BBC news in the past 12 months, compared to 61% of Greens, 65% of Tories, 69% of Labour voters and 73% of LibDems.

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 13h

What are the links between personality and party support? I've examined the latest @britishelectionstudy.com data for the most recent evidence ....
rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/politics-p...

This table shows the average score for each party’s voters on a scale for each of the 'big five' personality dimensions

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 3d

Reminder: On Tues 14 Oct, I'm talking to the ICO's Director of FOI Warren Seddon abut 20 years of FOI, as part of the ICO's annual online event - anyone can register via here: ico.org.uk/about-the-ic...

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 7d

I'm taking part in an online discussion about 20 years of FOI with the ICO's Director of FOI, Warren Seddon, as part of the ICO's annual online conference (DPPC 2025) on Tues 14 Oct - open to anyone, you can sign up at ico.org.uk/about-the-ic...

Data Protection Practitioners' Conference

This year’s DPPC will take place online on Tuesday 14 October 2025.

ico.org.uk

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 7d

This is a fascinating article, full of detail, for anyone interested in access to government records and processes for their preservation

Matthew Hurst @mrmhurst.bsky.social · 9d

British colonial officials destroyed countless files before decolonisation. But one colony has been neglected by the literature: Hong Kong. My latest paper in @jich.bsky.social examines the past, present and future of Hong Kong colonial government migrated archives: doi.org/10.1080/0308...

Hong Kong Colonial Government Migrated Archives at Hanslope Park

Following the revelation in 2011 that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office was sitting on the migrated archives of dozens of colonial governments, almost 20,000 files were transferred from s...

doi.org

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 10d

Lots of very interesting detail in this ...

James Breckwoldt @jamesbreckwoldt.bsky.social · 10d

I've done deep-dive into latest @britishelectionstudy.com wave to explain rise of Reform:

- Who are their voters? (pretty working-class)
- What do they care about? (immigration)
- What do they want? (lower immigration)
- Plus why I think "accommodation doesn't work" needs more nuance

🧵 of results

Who is Voting Reform? And Why?

The who, what, when, how and huh of why Reform has gained so much support in such a short period of time

jamesbreckwoldt.substack.com

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 12d

Since MRPs are in the news, this is what I wrote in May after a British Polling Council conference … more here: rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/maybe-righ...

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 14d

She says that the ICO will next be focusing its attention on the FOI performance of local authorities

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 14d

A useful new blog from the ICO's Deborah Clark, providing a good summary of how the ICO sees its recent measures to improve FOI compliance by public authorities - ico.org.uk/about-the-ic...

FOI in action: advocating for transparency and driving change this ‘Universal Access to Information Day’

Each year, on 28 September, we observe the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

ico.org.uk

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 14d

The ICO has today published its own new introductory guides for journalists, academics and small businesses about how to use FOI and information rights - ico.org.uk/for-the-publ...

Information rights for journalism, academic research and commercial purposes

ico.org.uk

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 14d

Another plug for this piece, justified surely by all the comments received telling me how 'fascinating' & 'insightful' it is, and setting aside the suspicion that they are, ironically perhaps in the circumstances, AI-generated...

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 19d

The UK's major complaints services are receiving increasing numbers of cases to investigate, and the use of generative AI chatbots might be a cause.
rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/generative...

Generative complaints

The UK's major complaints services are receiving increasing numbers of cases to investigate, and the use of generative AI chatbots might be a cause.

rosenbaum6.substack.com

Reposted by Martin Rosenbaum

Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland @cfoiscot.bsky.social · 15d

Interesting point that the Scottish government’s refusal to provide screenshots of its searches for the requested info is inconsistent with its practice in other recent FOI cases. www.scottishlegal.com/articles/sco... @katysclark.bsky.social

Scottish ministers rebuked for blocking FOI on Indyref Supreme Court case

Ministers have been criticised by Scotland’s transparency watchdog for wrongly attempting to block a freedom of information (FOI) request on the lord advocate’s reference to the Supreme Co...

www.scottishlegal.com

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Reposted by Martin Rosenbaum

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 19d

The UK's major complaints services are receiving increasing numbers of cases to investigate, and the use of generative AI chatbots might be a cause.
rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/generative...

Generative complaints

The UK's major complaints services are receiving increasing numbers of cases to investigate, and the use of generative AI chatbots might be a cause.

rosenbaum6.substack.com

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 18d

Good event coming up for those interested in FOI ...

mySociety @mysociety.org · 18d

3 experts discuss the question "How can we tell if #FOI laws are working in practice?" Join Toby Mendel of @law-democracy.bsky.social, Giovanni Esposito of Université Libre de Bruxelles & @mariazuffova.bsky.social of @eui-eu.bsky.social on Oct 2: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/putting-tr... #RightToKnowDay

Putting transparency to the test: evaluating FOI in practice

How can we tell if FOI laws are working in practice? 3 expert speakers will help us assess whether legislation matches reality.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 19d

The UK's major complaints services are receiving increasing numbers of cases to investigate, and the use of generative AI chatbots might be a cause.
rosenbaum6.substack.com/p/generative...

Generative complaints

The UK's major complaints services are receiving increasing numbers of cases to investigate, and the use of generative AI chatbots might be a cause.

rosenbaum6.substack.com

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 21d

Consultation exercise now open on the Bill to strengthen FOI law in Scotland - your chance to express your views on the proposals ...

The Scottish Parliament @parliament.scot · 21d

📢 Changes are proposed to Scotland’s FOI laws.

The Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill aims to make it easier to access information and hold public services to account.

Listen to Standards Committee Convener Martin Whitfield and have your say.

🔗 yourviews.parliament.scot/sppa/freedom...

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 23d

The newly published govt FOI stats are available at www.gov.uk/government/s...

Freedom of Information statistics: April to June 2025

This page gives Freedom of Information statistics for central government bodies from April to June 2025.

www.gov.uk

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 23d

This shows the dire FOI position at the Foreign Office - in the latest FOI figures, Q2 of 2025, their FOI responses were late on 42% of occasions

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 23d

This chart (from govt stats for Q2 of 2025) shows how FOI requests to UK central govt are up on last year - notably Home Office, DWP, Treasury (it's not because of last year's gen elec, similar comparison applies to other previous quarters)

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 23d

Latest quarterly FOI stats out today show:
1) Big increase in FOI requests to govt, esp for Home Office, DWP, Treasury
2) Delays at FCDO are still terrible
3) National Archives is at last sorting out its huge backlog caused by transfer of MoD personnel files

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Reposted by Martin Rosenbaum

Tim Durrant @timdurrant.bsky.social · Sep 3

This really was a great event - do watch it back if you couldn't make it!

Gavin Freeguard @gavinfreeguard.bsky.social · Sep 3

A massive thank you to @jennacorderoy.bsky.social @benworthy.bsky.social @itscrowbot.bsky.social @lynnwyeth.bsky.social, John Edwards & Charlie Falconer (& a great audience) for a terrific and constructive discussion on FOI @instituteforgovernment.org.uk today

Watch back bit.ly/IfGFoI2025

The Freedom of Information Act at 25: What next for freedom of information? | Institute for Government

The event includes proposals and discussion about how the Freedom of Information system can improve for the future.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

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Reposted by Martin Rosenbaum

mySociety @mysociety.org · Sep 3

www.mysociety.org/2025/09/03/h... The 'citations' page on WhatDoTheyKnow gathers together #FOI requests which have fed into news, research or campaigns - or brought significant changes to democracy. #freedomofinformation

How FOI feeds into public conversation

Freedom of Information often results in news stories and research. Here are some examples.

www.mysociety.org

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Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · Sep 2

The case involves legal advice held by PSNI about security costs and gold mining companies (whose process involves the use of explosives). The complaint was made to the ICO in November 2021, and it is still far from clear when a decision might be reached on releasing the material.

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · Sep 2

The Upper Tribunal decision is here: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68b5b5...

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · Sep 2

Normally the ICO expects a public authority to give them access to whatever information an FOI complainant is seeking, so that it can take an informed decision on whether it should be disclosed. In this case PSNI has seemed determined to stop the ICO seeing the legal advice material.