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Michael Traill
From: To: Sent: Subject: Hi Michael I am so sorry to hear about that! Do you know who it was you spoke to? I know we dont advertise individual rates but usually if you speak with our marketing department they are able to arrange something. I am so sorry to hear that you felt you were unwelcome on the day as this is certainly not the case and I will definitely follow this up. As the conference researcher I think you would have a really valuable contribution to the session. Ideally we want to start a bit of dialogue from both sides of the coin, the requestors and the authorities receiving requests so that everyone can share a bit of best practice and develop a better understanding of ways to make things more effective and efficient on both ends. You were very highly recommended by Paul Mutch at the Scottish Information Commissioners office, who felt you would be an excellent contribution to the session. Once again, I can only apologise for the confusion and hope it does not affect your decision to be involved. If you could let me know either way, that would be greatly appreciated. I will follow up with the office regarding the misinformation you were given! Best Wishes, Gabby Gabrielle McCaig Researcher & Conference Developer Holyrood Communications 14-16 Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AF T: 0131 272 3106 http://conferences.holyrood.com http://twitter.com/#!/HolyroodEvents From: Michael Traill [mailto:michael@michaeltraill.co.uk] Sent: 17 November 2011 17:44 To: Gabrielle Aiuto Subject: Re: 9th Annual Holyrood FOI Conference Hi Gabby I'm surprised by this email! I actually made enquiries with your office about attending this event but was basically told I wasn't welcome as it was for professionals and not individuals! Regards Michael Traill ----- Original Message ----From: Gabrielle Aiuto To: Michael@michaeltraill.co.uk Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2011 12:13 PM Subject: 9th Annual Holyrood FOI Conference Dear Michael, I would like to invite you speak at one of our master classes for our upcoming FOI Conference on 16th "Gabrielle Aiuto" <gabby@holyrood.com> "Michael Traill" <michael@michaeltraill.co.uk> 18 November 2011 09:34 RE: 9th Annual Holyrood FOI Conference

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December 2011. The master class will be an exploration from both the point of view of requesters and public authorities as to what makes a good FOI request, with a view to using the session to identify tips and advice that may be incorporated in new guidance to help improve the quality and effectiveness of requests, and the experience of requesters. Looking at what tips authorities would give to requesters to help them obtain the information they are looking for as well as what experiences the requesters have had of formulating their own requests this session aims to open the dialogue on how to make requests more effective and efficient for all parties. We would anticipate you speaking briefly on these issues at the start of the session. We have also asked Claire Turnbull, FOI Specialist, the Scottish Parliament to speak on the perspectives of public authorities and what an ideal request is to them. Sarah Hutchinson the Head of Policy and Information with the Scottish Information Commissioner will the chair a discussion around these topics. More details of the conference can be found on the conference website foi.holyrood.com Please let me know if you have any additional comments or concerns about the conference. I look forward to speaking with you. Best Wishes, Gabby Gabrielle McCaig Researcher & Conference Developer Holyrood Communications 14-16 Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AF T: 0131 272 3106 http://conferences.holyrood.com http://twitter.com/#!/HolyroodEvents

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