Tag: Information Commissioner’s Office
CIG presses on with ombudsman merger
(CNS): Government has confirmed it will be pressing ahead with the merger of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Office of the Complaints Commissioner (OCC) to form a new ombudsman’s office that will also deal with police complaints. The controversial decision will save the government just $83,000 a year from the existing budget for […]
Governor releases Tempura documents
(CNS): Having spent thousands of dollars fighting orders from the Information Commissioner’s Office to do so, the governor’s office has finally released the Aina Report on Operation Tempura, written on behalf of then Governor Duncan Taylor in response to a lengthy complaint made by Martin Polaine, the legal advisor to the probe into the RCIPS […]
CAL makes inadequate search over FOI request
(CNS): Cayman Airways Limited (CAL) failed to respond adequately to a freedom of information request, Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers found in his latest appeal decision. However, because the airline eventually made good on the request and during the process of the hearing released more documents, he ultimately dismissed the appeal by a former employee seeking records relating to his […]
CIAA ordered to release ‘go around’ records
(CNS): The acting information commissioner has ordered the Cayman Islands Airports Authority to release an Air Traffic Control (ATC) Occurrence Report and the recording relating to a ‘go-around’ incident at the airport last March. The CIAA refused to grant these following a freedom of information request in the wake of the incident but Jan Liebaers found in his […]
New light on Bridger probe
(CNS): The decision from the Information Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday ordering the release of reports relating to Operation Tempura shed some new light on the ongoing RCIPS investigation into Martin Bridger, the former head of the discredited and controversial internal police probe. The details of why he has been on the RCIPS radar for more than […]
CoP blocked ICO probe into Tempura report
(CNS): The acting information commissioner has once again ordered a redacted release of the infamous Tempura report after reviewing the objections of the governor’s office, which has refused to release the documents for four years. In his latest ruling Jan Liebaers revealed further twists and turns by the authorities, including a U-turn by the police commissioner […]
Customs knows bulk fuel pricing mark-up
(CNS): The acting information commissioner has said that customs was right to refuse an FOI request and withhold information about the price bulk suppliers are paying for the fuel it imports into the Cayman Islands because lifting the lid would be a breach of confidence that would not be overridden by public interest. However, Jan Liebaers revealed that […]
Auditor recruitment underway but OCC and ICO await fate
(CNS): The departure of Alastair Swarbrick is unlikely to see the auditor general’s seat vacant for very long, unlike the other independent watchdog posts. The former auditor general confirmed before his departure last week that the recruitment process for his job was already underway and the advertisements were expected to be posted this week. Meanwhile, […]
Government transparency gets worse
(CNS): The average time it is taking for information managers to respond to freedom of information requests is not only getting longer but now falls outside the requirement of the law. On average it is taking 31 days for applicants to get a response regarding their applications, with more than 50% of all requests going […]
ICO to put procedure problems on fast track
(CNS): People making freedom of information requests are still frequently running into procedural difficulties with many public authorities, so the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is launching an initiative to fast track technical problems outside of the formal hearing process. As Right to Know Week gets underway, Jan Liebaers, the acting information commissioner, said that on many occasions delays, timeline overruns, […]
Reflections on Freedom of Information in the Cayman Islands
Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers writes: On September 28th the Cayman Islands joins more than 100 jurisdictions around the world in a celebration of the Right to Know. Thousands of people on all six continents use their access rights under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws to gain access to information that is important to them, […]
