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FOIA Update

FOI practitioners need to keep up to date with the latest ICO decisions and Tribunal appeals.

The course will cover the most significant FOI decisions issued in the past 12 months which include:

- Department for Business and Trade v Information Commissioner and Montague [2023] EWCA Civ 1378. This Appeal considers whether multiple exemptions can be aggregated together for the public interest test when raised by the Public Authority in respect of a single piece of information. It also looks at the public interest timing issue. The Appeal also explores whether the public interest should be considered at the time of the request or at the time of the internal review.

- Moss v Royal Borough of Kingston-upon Thames and Information Commissioner [2023] EWCA Civ 1438. This Appeal looks at whether the First Tier Tribunal has the power to commit a person for contempt in the event of a failure to comply with one of its orders.

FOI practitioners need to keep up to date with the latest ICO decisions and Tribunal appeals and how they impact on their day-to-day work.

In this practical workshop, our FOI expert will dissect significant ICO and Tribunal decisions issued during the preceding 12 months. This is an advanced level workshop suitable for experienced FOI practitioners and others with a good working knowledge of the legislation.

By the end of the workshop you will have gained an understanding of the latest FOI decisions, how case law is evolving and the latest developments in the way exemptions, public interest test and procedural requirements are being interpreted.

The exact content of this workshop is dependent on the decisions that have been issued during the preceding 12 month period but typically it will cover the topics set out below.

Key Topics

  • Update on topical cases in 2023 and 2024 including: Department for Business and Trade v Information Commissioner and Montague
  • Moss v Royal Borough of Kingston-upon Thames and Information Commissioner
  • Section 43(2) (commercial interest) cases
  • Section 36 (public affairs) cases
  • The relationship between FOI and GDPR
  • Latest ICO enforcement action
  • Expansion of FOI
  • Reflections and horizon scanning
  • Case studies

Dates & Cost

Online

£449 plus VAT

Classroom

£2,450 plus VAT

Timings: 9:30am to 5:30pm

 
Date: 24 Jan 2025
Location: Online
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Date: 08 May 2025
Location: Online
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Date: 21 Jul 2025
Location: Online
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Date: 09 Oct 2025
Location: Online
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Date: 18 Dec 2025
Location: Online
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Course tutors

All our associates are experienced information governance professionals who have been training and advising in this field for many years.

  • Philip Jones

    Course Tutor


    Philip has 40 years of information management experience in the public and private sectors both as a practitioner and at a senior management level. He was Head of Information Governance at Staffordshire Council. Philip holds a masters degree in information management and an MBA. He is a senior associate for Act Now and Chair of the Exam Panel.

  • Scott Sammons

    Course Tutor


    Scott is an information governance specialist with over 15 years of experience. He has delivered a number international projects for Act Now Training and is a senior tutor on the Advanced Certificate in GDPR Practice. His previous roles include European Data Protection Lead for a bank and GDPR Implementation lead for a council. Scott is a former Chair of the IRMS.

  • Susan Wolf

    Course Tutor


    Susan holds a judicial position as a Fee Paid Member of the Upper Tribunal (Information Rights). She spent ten years teaching the LLM in Information Rights Law at Northumbria University and developed their Postgraduate Certificate in Data Protection Law and Information Governance. Susan is one of the senior curriculum developers for Act Now Training.

  • Iain Harrison

    Course Tutor


    Iain is currently an Information Governance Risk Manager for large local authority and has over 20 years of experience. He has been delivering training for Act Now for over seven years in GDPR and FOI for public, private and charitiable organisations. His extensive experience in planning and implementation of Information Rights legislation allows him to bring training sessions to life.

  • Craig Geddes

    Course Tutor


    Craig is a certified archivist and records manager with 28 years of experience in information governance. He has served as an Archivist, Records Manager, and Senior Information Officer for numerous Scottish local administrations. Craig has spent many years developing and delivering training on records management, freedom of information and data protection.

  • Kirsty Squires

    Course Tutor


    Kirsty is currently a DPO for a number of local authorities and has over 15 years of experience in Data Governance. She has led the IG Project Team on transformation projects to deliver local government restructure in Northamptonshire, dealing with issues including information sharing, data protection by design and leading on training and policy development.

  • Naomi Matthews

    Course Tutor


    Naomi is a local authority lawyer and holds a judicial position as a Fee Paid Member of the Upper Tribunal (Information Rights). She has extensive experience in all areas of information compliance and RIPA. Her training has been commended by RIPA inspectors and her advice has helped many local authorities understand the law and practicalities of covert surveillance.

  • Suzanne Ballabás

    Course Tutor


    Suzanne Ballabás, is a privacy professional with over ten years of practical experience in implementing privacy practices across various international organisations, in addition to acting as a compliance officer for multiple regulated entities within the UAE’s financial districts of DIFC and ADGM.

  • Olu Odeniyi

    Course Tutor


    Olu Odeniyi is a Cyber Security, Information Security and Digital Transformation Trusted Advisor who has 30 years' experience helping organisations maximise gain from technology solutions, including optimisation of business operations and processes. During this time, Olu held several key senior leadership, strategic and operational positions, in the public and private sectors.

  • Robert Bateman

    Course Tutor


    Robert Bateman is a trainer and writer specialising in privacy, data protection, security, and AI. He is a respected voice on privacy and has been writing, researching, and leading conversations in the field since 2017.

  • Craig Geddes

    Course Tutor


    Craig is a qualified archivist and records manager, with 28 years experience working across the range of information governance activities. He has worked for several Scottish local authorities as Archivist, Records Manager, and Senior Information and Improvement Officer.

What our clients say about us

    I would highly recommend the GDPR Practitioner Course. The Tutor was extremely knowledgeable and gave plenty of chance for group conversation or individual questions. A great course for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of GDPR and understand putting the principles into practise.
    SL, BCH

    I would highly recommend the GDPR Practitioner Course. The Tutor was extremely knowledgeable and gave plenty of chance for group conversation or individual questions. A great course for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of GDPR and understand putting the principles into practise.
    SL, BCH

    I learned so much! The course was just the right balance of theory and practical, and was very well delivered.
    CB, CHAS

    The course was very useful as an IG Officer. The trainer was knowledgeable and explained some complex aspects of the legislation using interesting examples and real life scenarios. As a refresher, even with lots of work experience behind me, it was very useful to undertake the Practitioner course. The course materials and handbook are invaluable and I know I will re-use them in conjunction with my usual resources.
    NC, Lincolnshire County Council

    A very practical and all-encompassing coverage of the UK GDPR provided over 4 days. Although 4 days is not enough time to cover this whole subject in depth, there was just enough covered with further resources and links provided within the sessions to cover all aspects of the GDPR to a level at which I now feel a lot more confident in my role. Thank you, Kirsty!
    SW, Norwich University of the Arts