Video Arts train sights on Freedom of Information Act

Video Arts, award winning provider of memorable training resources, and Masons Solicitors, experts on compliance and legislation, have developed 'Freedom of Information', a training programme designed to help staff at public authorities get to grips with the Freedom of Information Act before it comes into force in January 2005.
Essentially the Act gives the public general right of access to a vast array of information held by public authorities and will place enormous demands right across the public sector from healthcare and education to policing and local government. Within each organisation changes will need to be made to everything from human resources to the IT infrastructure. The new product will help organisations understand their legal obligations and prepare them for the changes in the way they will have to manage records, publish information and deal with specific requests. It brings the Freedom of Information Act to life by getting users to interact with realistic scenarios and helps them to learn the legal consequences of their actions when applying the Act.
Martin Addison, learning resources director at Video Arts, said: "Much of the discussion to date has centred on getting publication schemes and the IT infrastructure in place that will allow authorities to store and retrieve electronic data. However, there is a real risk that they underestimate the importance of the cultural and human factors - if employees are not comfortable with applying the Act there could be serious legal and operational repercussions further down the line. Complying with the Freedom of Information Act is a complex area. What is so special about this product is the way that it manages to translate the mass of legal materials into an engaging and compelling training programme that will help both organisations and individuals gain the knowledge they need to deal with the impact of the Act."
Freedom of Information comprises six modules focusing on a different part of the Act. It cleverly combines video material with detailed legal learning points and is supported by a section on practical implications.
Rosemary Jay, a Partner at Masons, said: "The introduction of the Act is a huge leap for the entire UK public sector from healthcare and education to policing, central and local government. What's more the issues touch a variety of different personnel within any one organisation which calls for an integrated approach. Dealing with the operational changes will be challenging enough but nobody should underestimate the cultural change that is required to comply with this new legislation."
The overall concept of the product is of a TV channel with a different programming style for each module to enhance understanding and inject interest into what is without doubt a challenging topic.
(GB)