Two consultations are currently underway at the moment, both with an aim to enhance and improve Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in Scotland. The first is from the Scottish Government who are currently seeking views on FOI in its consultation on access to information rights in Scotland, and the second consultation involves a proposal for a Private Member’s Bill to reform FOI. As RSLs are subject to certain FOI laws, you should be aware of these consultations and the opportunity you have to express your views in relation to both of these. So what do the consultations set out?
Private Member’s Bill
The current legislation which governs FOI (the Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) 2002) is now 20 years old and advocates for FOI across Scotland continue to support reform of the legislation. This was one of the main aims for Katy Clark MSP when she launched the proposal for a Private Member’s Bill, which was drafted with assistance from the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland, an association who campaign for wider legal rights for individuals to access information within Scotland.
The Bill would seek to update and reform FOI legislation in Scotland with the main aims being to strengthen the rights of requestors, the duties of those bodies designated for compliance, and the enforcement powers of the SIC. It seeks to ensure that FOI legislation is “fit for the modern age and closes any legal loopholes that would otherwise restrict transparency”.
The proposed changes include:
- The creation of a formal FOI Officer role
- Removal of the need to provide a name and address when requesting information;
- A review of FOI exemptions including reducing the number of ‘absolute’ exemptions contained within Part 2 of FOISA; and
- Extending FOI to additional organisations
You can read the Consultation and all other suggested changes here. Any responses to the proposals set out in the consultation should be given by 2nd February 2023.
The Scottish Government Consultation
The Scottish Government have also agreed that now is the right time for a fresh look on how the legislation is working for requesters and public authorities who are subject to the legislation and they have stated that they are approaching the consultation with an open mind.
However, this consultation differs from the other consultation outlined above. This is because the Scottish Government maintain the view that the case for any new primary legislation must be thoroughly tested and will only be considered where there are no satisfactory routes for improving the operation of the information rights regime within the current statutory framework. The Government are instead seeking to gather views on how the access to information framework is working for people and organisations in practice and then build on this by improving where necessary.
The Scottish Government are seeking views on areas such as:
- If outsourcing of services by public authorities has a material detriment on information available under FOI and what changes/guidance is needed to manage this;
- Does the current publication system under FOI work and what could be done to address issues; and
- If changes in technology have impacted how information is stored and what costs public authorities incur in handling requests
You can give your views on the above and more by responding to the consultation here by 14th March 2023.
What’s next for RSLs?
The consultations are the first step in the parliamentary process and so there is still a long way to go before we see any significant changes that may directly impact RSLs. However, RSLs should ensure that they keep up to date with the latest FOI developments. As both consultations are seeking views on a similar topic but have set out different ways that they would seek to respond, it will be interesting to see how both consultations develop. TC Young will continue to update our blog in line with these updates.
For more information or advice, please contact our team.
