David Hamilton
Scottish Information Commissioner
2025 is a significant year for freedom of information in Scotland - not least because, on 1 January 2025, Scotland’s FOI Act celebrated its 20th anniversary. That’s twenty years since the people of Scotland were first given the legal right under FOI to request and receive information from Scotland’s public bodies (along with the right of appeal to my office should things go wrong).
Over the last two decades people from all over Scotland have made use of this right, accessing information on a huge range of issues, from health data to housing, policing to policy-making, environmental issues to education standards.
And make no mistake, during that time FOI has helped to shift the balance of power between individuals and organisations, while also helping Scotland’s public authorities become more open, transparent and accountable to the communities they serve.
Over the coming months we’re planning to celebrate the anniversary of FOI through a number of events and activities – more on this in our next newsletter. But first, I’m going to get the ball rolling by reflecting on 20 years of FOI through 20 numbers; an overview of some facts and figures which demonstrate both the impact and value that FOI has had for the people of Scotland… alongside the value of making an appeal to my office in the (hopefully unlikely) event that things go wrong…
So lets get started with:
- 1.4 million requests
We estimate that more than 1.4 million FOI requests have been made to Scottish public authorities over since 2005 when FOI came into force – that’s 1.4 million times people have used their legal right to access information on the issues that matter to them and their communities.
- 86% responded to on time
We started collecting data from public authorities in 2013. This data shows, that over that time, 86% of requests have been answered with the FOI Act’s 20-working day timescale. While there’s certainly more work to be done to improve compliance in this area, this figure shows that the typical experience is that a response is received within 20-working days of the request being made.
- 75% result in information being provided…
75% of the FOI requests made in Scotland result in some or all of the information being disclosed, with 56% resulting in full disclosure. This means that, if you make a request, the most likely outcome is that you’ll receive information that you’re looking for.
- (…or is it 83%?)
If we discount cases where the information a person is looking for isn’t held by the public body, the proportion of cases where some or all information is provided rises even higher, to 83% (62% full disclosure). If an authority has the information then, the response will typically be disclosure.
- Only 3% are refused on cost grounds
The FOI Act allows authorities to refuse requests where the cost of responding would exceed £600, while the EIRs allow requests to be refused if the request is ‘manifestly unreasonable’. Since we started collecting data, only 3% or requests have been reported to be refused on cost grounds.
- Only 0.4% are refused as ‘vexatious’
Likewise, very few requests are refused by authorities using the FOI Act’s ‘vexatious’ provision, or the equivalent provision under the EIRs. These provisions are designed to protect authorities against abuses of FOI and to prevent authorities becoming overburdened by the impact of certain requests.
- Only 3% of requests are subject to internal review
This is the first stage of appeal, requiring an authority to take a ‘second look’ at the request, if the requester is unhappy with the response.
- Fewer than 1% of requests are appealed to the Commissioner
My office will consider cases where a requester is unhappy with the outcome of a request for review. Only a small proportion - 0.7% of the estimated 1.4 million requests made over the last twenty years - go on to be appealed.
- 10,264 appeals have been made
Since 2005, my office has received more than 10,000 appeals from people seeking an investigation into a public authority’s handling of an information request.
- 79% of appeals are by members of the public
While some may think that FOI is mainly used by journalists or researchers, this isn’t borne out in our appeal data. The overwhelming majority of our appeals come from members of the public – individuals seeking access to information on the issues that matter to themselves and their communities.
- 4,132 decisions issued
We’ve issued more than 4,100 formal decisions since 2005. These decisions set out the Commissioner’s view on the case and require, where appropriate, that an authority take further action – such as disclosing more information. All our decisions are publicly available online on our website.
- 65% of decisions have found in the requester’s favour
Since 2005, 37% of our decisions have found fully in the requester’s favour while 28% have found partially in their favour (often requiring the disclosure of some, but not all, of the information), bringing the total finding for the requester in some way to 65%. This figure clearly underlines the value in bringing an appeal to my office where a requester is unhappy with an FOI response.
- 13% of appeals have been about environmental information
Appeals made about requests for environmental information have grown in recent years. They account for 13% of our appeals over the last 20 years but have risen from 5% of our caseload between 2007 and 2009, to 15% in 2023-24, showing both growing public interest in environmental matters and increasing awareness of the right to access environmental information.
- 20% of appeals are made following a failure to respond
While most requests are answered on time, one in five of our appeals relate to a failure to respond by a public authority. These appeals are concerning - they are easily avoidable and will typically frustrate requesters, while also creating unnecessary extra work for both public bodies and my office. Our Responding on Time toolkit module has guidance for authorities on improving performance in this key area.
- 28 staff members
All of this work (and much, much, more besides…) is done by my small team, which currently consists of just 28 people. I am fortunate to be supported by a hugely dedicated, hard-working and committed team of colleagues, who reflect and champion the values and principles of FOI in every aspect of their work.
- 4 Commissioners
My day-to-day work is also made easier through the work done by my predecessors – Kevin Dunion, Rosemary Agnew and Daren Fitzhenry. Scotland has been hugely fortunate that its FOI regime has been overseen by individuals with a strong and principled commitment to enforcing and promoting the rights that FOI provides, and the work done during each of their tenures informs my own thinking daily. I thank them for that.
Just under 5 years to go…
It’s hard to believe that I’m already more than one year into my own time as Commissioner, meaning that I now have fewer than five years left in post. My first year in the role has been both exciting and demanding, with a court appeal ruling, new interventions to improve practice, the development of a strategy to clear our post-pandemic case backlog, and engagement with the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament on potential reforms to FOI law and guidance, all important parts of my workload.
My remaining term of office will, I’m sure, be just as dynamic. Not least because I have FOI reform, a streamlined appeal process, more external training, stronger senior-level engagement, the exploration of new technologies and more transparent reporting all featuring as part of my current priorities.
- 88% of people have heard of FOI…
Our opinion polling has consistently shown that the public are both broadly aware of FOI, and value the rights that the law provides. Our most recent polling found that 88% of people had heard of FOI, while 97% agreed that it was important for the public to be able to access the information held by public bodies.
- …and only 6% think FOI is a waste of public money
Only 6% of respondents to our most recent poll agreed with the statement that FOI was a waste of public money. This figure was the lowest since we first asked this question in 2011. It shows that, despite the financial challenges that public authorities face, people see increasing value in their right to examine public sector decision-making and scrutinise the performance of public services.
Only 3 designation orders made so far…
Our public awareness research also consistently tells us that the public support the extension of FOI to cover bodies that deliver public services, with 93% of respondents in 2024 agreeing that FOI should be extended to cover publicly-funded health and social care services. Despite this strong public support, however, progress on the extension of FOI continues to move extremely slowly.
The reassurances of former Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace (now Lord Wallace of Tankerness) in 2002 that “Provisions allow providers of services to be added to the Bill case by case, and I reassure Parliament that the power will be exercised” have not been fully realised, with the first designation order coming some eleven years after that statement was made.
The most recent designation order, however, marked a big step forward, bringing Scotland’s housing associations and their subsidiaries under the scope of FOI in 2019. These organisations have gone on to demonstrate high levels of FOI performance.
I look forward to working with the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government to ensure that FOI rights appropriately cover all providers of key public services, to ensure that the public are able to access timely and accurate information about the vitally important services used by themselves and their loved ones.
So, there we have it – a whistle-stop tour through 20 years of FOI in Scotland in 20 key numbers.
To support our ongoing activity to mark the twentieth anniversary of FOI, we’d love to hear what impact FOI has had for you.
Whether you’re a user or potential user of FOI, or a public authority practitioner, or whether you have used FOI last week or last decade, we’d love to hear more about your impact and experiences to help inform our future work.
So, whatever your focus and whatever your story, please get in touch to let us know at enquiries@FOI.scot.
David Hamilton
Scottish Information Commissioner
