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PATI on course for 2012 launch

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Cabinet secretary Donald Scott says public access to information legislation will come into force later this year.Today marks the second anniversary of the law being passed by parliamentarians in the House of Assembly.At the time, then Premier Ewart Brown said it would take two to three years to implement across Government.His successor Paula Cox has since pledged it will come into force “in the second half of 2012”.Mr Scott told The Royal Gazette: “The preparations for PATI remain on course for a planned go-live date later this year.“As might be expected, some departments are more ready than others, given the magnitude of the requirement compared to resources available in some of the smaller government departments.“Some of the larger Ministries are ready and have provided a standard to be followed by others.”Mr Scott said a recent assessment of the “state of readiness” across Government, municipalities, parish councils and other public entities had “pointed to the need for more guidance and training ahead of full implementation”.He added: “These issues were anticipated and will be addressed as a part of the implementation process. A further update will be given in the early fall of 2012.”Finance Minister Ms Cox told this newspaper a year ago that the Public Information to Access Act 2010 represented a “seismic shift in the way that public authorities disseminate information”.She said public sessions to education citizens on how to make freedom of information requests would begin early in 2012 — though none are understood to have taken place so far this year.The Premier said much preparation was required to ensure public authorities met the requirements of the legislation, including a comprehensive review of Government’s record management systems.The law, once in force, will allow taxpayers to ask for information from countless government departments, quangos, statutory boards and committees, parish councils and the municipalities of Hamilton and St George.This newspaper’s A Right To Know: Giving People Power campaign has been calling for PATI to be brought in since January 2008.

Financial Secretary Donald Scott ¬ Photo by Glenn Tucker