by Lui Giacomello

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force on 1 January 2005. It was introduced by the Scottish Parliament to ensure that people have the right to access information held by Scottish public authorities.

The Act states that any person can receive information that they request from a public authority, subject to certain exemptions such as protection of personal data, commercial confidentiality or national security. Anyone will have the right to information that may previously have been withheld by public authorities.

If your request for information is refused or ignored, you will have the right to ask the public authority to review its decision. If you are still unhappy with their response you will have the right to appeal to the Commissioner, who will investigate your case.

He has powers to force the public authority to release any information that is not exempt under the Freedom Of Information (FOI) Act.

The Act applies to all Scottish public authorities including the Scottish Executive and its agencies; The Scottish Parliament; Local Authorities; NHS in Scotland; Universities and further education colleges; and the Police.

UNISON has welcomed the fact that the Scottish Freedom Of Information Act is stronger than the UK equivalent. We argued for the widest possible coverage - wanting all public service providers covered, and to reduce the exemptions.

There are still problems with private providers delivering public services as can be seen with 'confidentiality clauses' between the prison service and Reliance, for example. However the commissioner has made it clear that such clauses should not be entered into in the future.

Most importantly, however we pointed out that increased resources would be needed to:

• identify, track, record, store & supply the information
• train staff in the provisions and terms of the Act, and appropriate staff in the procedures and responsibilities.

To find out more about the Freedom Of Information Act, visit the Scottish Information Commissioner's website - www.itspublicknowledge.org.uk or contact the author Lui.Giacomello@luht.scot.nhs.uk.

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