About Us
The Scottish Information Commissioner is the independent public official responsible for promoting and enforcing Scotland's freedom of information (FOI) law.
The Commissioner is appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, on the nomination of the Scottish Parliament, and serves for a fixed term of six years. The Scottish Parliament meets the Commissioner's salary and provides funding for the Commissioner's office.
The Commissioner is based in St Andrews, Fife and is supported by a small team.
Our main functions
- Investigating FOI appeals
- Promoting the public's right to know
- Promoting good FOI practice to public authorities
- Intervening when public authority practice is not compliant with FOI law
The role of the Commissioner
The Scottish Information Commissioner has statutory functions to promote and enforce freedom of information (FOI) law. One of the best ways to get a picture of our work is to view our Annual Reports. Below is an overview of some of the main areas of our work, with links to relevant content on this website.
The Commissioner is the appeal body for FOI requests made to Scottish public authorities. Investigating appeals and issuing enforceable Decision Notices are a significant part of our work. We also monitor authorities' FOI practice and make interventions to remedy concerns.
- Find out more about our approach to appeals and interventions in our Enforcement Policy.
- If you are thinking about making an appeal, see our advice: Unhappy with the response?
- Search all the Commissioner's Decision Notices by number, authority or outcome in the decisions database.
The Commissioner promotes FOI rights to the public through advice and training. For plain language advice to help you request information from a Scottish public authority, see the Your Rights section.
The Commissioner encourages public authorities to develop good FOI practice. For guidance, support materials and training, see the Public Authorities section.
We publish detailed briefings on key concepts in FOI law, exemptions and exceptions - see our Briefings and guidance.
The Commissioner publishes Special Reports to the Scottish Parliament and consultation responses on a range of issues.
