Freedom of Information Some tips for community journalists Darryl Chamberlain

Here’s what I do…. 853blog.com Greenwich and neighbouring areas in south east London Covering stories others don’t Holding Greenwich Council and other bodies to account

Here’s what I do… charltonchampion.co.uk Community news and what’s happening in Charlton Designed to be a neutral forum for local news and views

Here’s what I do… No to Silvertown Tunnel Campaign against new road crossing of the Thames New road would increase already-horrifying levels of air pollution in south-east and east London

Other media in SE London News Shopper (Newsquest) Based well outside local area Has recently lost dedicated local reporters for Greenwich and Lewisham Print edition poorly distributed

Other media in SE London Mercury (Tindle Newspapers) Runs on a skeleton staff, based well outside local area Is a free paper, yet copies are hard to find Took until summer 2015 to launch a proper website

Other media in SE London Greenwich Time (Greenwich Council) One of just two council weeklies left in England Distributed to every home in Greenwich borough Gives a rosy glow on local council policies – week in, week out

The main players Greenwich Council – my local council Neighbouring councils such as Lewisham Transport for London – agency run by elected mayor of London which runs public transport and main roads.

Why submit an FOI request? To find out figures To see how money is being spent To find views that’d otherwise be kept secret To obtain documents

FOI to find out figures

Emirates Air Line FOI Asked for hourly breakdown over a week Asked for sales of a wide range of tickets Exercise has been repeated over three years Story generated London and UK coverage

Emirates Air Line FOI

Follow the money

Greenwich Council’s private mayor-making celebration costs £20,000 Invite lists reveal it’s used to schmooze property developers and reward chums Asking for wine list added colour to story

Follow the money Section 106 payments on new developments such as supermarkets – where do they go? FOI on new Charlton Sainsbury’s revealed no cash earmarked for local area

Revealing disagreements

Greenwich’s cycling sulk Greenwich Council was only one of 32 London boroughs to refuse to deal with the mayor’s cycling commissioner This was based on council leader’s personal dislike of the commissioner, controversial journalist Andrew Gilligan

Greenwich’s cycling sulk I asked the Greater London Authority for correspondence between Gilligan and Greenwich Council Publishing the documents embarrassed the council into reversing its position

Find out why projects fail

FOI to get documents

Council-commissioned study into possible Docklands Light Railway extension – wasn’t published on website, but obtained using FOI. Council cabinet had backed spending money on a follow-up report, but was unwilling to make it public. FOI ensured it was made public.

FOI to get documents Failed funding applications Audio recordings of council meetings Safety assessments of public structures Officer briefings to elected officials

Opening up consultations You can ask for all responses to public consultations No to Silvertown Tunnel has entire dataset from 2014 consultation, enabling campaign to map responses and gauge support for scheme

Some final thoughts on FOI No two councils are the same – some are more open than others. Have a good idea of what you expect to see – be as specific as possible in your request

Some final thoughts on FOI

WhatDoTheyKnow.com is very useful in enabling you to track your requests It also lets you monitor requests to your local council and check nobody’s asked for information already BUT… others may use your information without crediting you for your research

Some final thoughts on FOI Are there other ways to get your information? Try press office or asking public question at a council meeting. Just ask – the more questions you ask, the better your stories will be.

Some final thoughts on FOI

Thanks for listening