2 January 2025
1st January 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of the introduction of Scotland’s freedom of information (FOI) laws, which give people a legal right to receive information from Scotland’s public bodies.
The FOI right, which came into force on 1st January 2005, applies to public bodies across Scotland, and includes the Scottish Government, local authorities, the NHS and Police Scotland, along with universities, colleges, housing associations and most schools.
Under FOI, information requests can only be refused if law allows it, and refusals can be appealed to the independent Scottish Information Commissioner.
Marking the 20th anniversary of FOI, Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton said:
“FOI in Scotland has been a big success story. Our data tells us that more than 1.4 million FOI requests have been made to Scottish public bodies over the last twenty years, with the typical outcome being the prompt disclosure of the information requested.
“People from every corner of Scotland have used their FOI rights to access information on a huge range of issues, from speed camera information to health data, from crime and policing to planning, from government decision-making to school closures. And in every case, if someone is unhappy with a response, they have an independent right of appeal to my office.
“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.
“Scotland has come a long way over the last twenty years, and I look forward to seeing the continuing impact that FOI rights have for people over the next twenty years, and beyond.”
Recent examples of FOI-use include use by Give Them Time, a group of parents who successfully campaigned for a change in law to allow a legal right to defer the start of primary school, and Asthma + Lung UK Scotland, who have used FOI to support campaigns to raise awareness of lung health and improve air quality.
Discussing the impact that FOI had for them, Patricia Anderson from the Give Them Time campaign said:
“Responses to FOI requests were the bedrock of Give Them Time. Having the right to access data held by all 32 local authorities in Scotland enabled us to prove that there was indeed a stark “postcode lottery” of councils funding a further year of nursery or not for children taking up their legal right to defer their p1 start. Without FOI legislation, there wouldn’t have been a campaign and we wouldn’t have successfully changed the law.”
Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland said:
“We have used FOI on a number of occasions, and it has undoubtedly helped our campaign and press work. As a health charity we are keen to garner as much information as possible to help the one in five people in Scotland who will develop a lung condition in their lifetime.”
The impact of FOI for individuals, communities and campaigners over the last 20 years is also recognised by the person who piloted the legislation through the Scottish Parliament, former Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace, now Lord Wallace of Tankerness.
Reflecting on the public’s use of FOI and the 20th anniversary of FOI law, Lord Wallace said:
“While many reports about information revealed through FOI requests may result from queries submitted by journalists or politicians, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of requests come from ordinary citizens trying to uncover or understand the basis for decisions which affect their lives.
“It was a privilege to be able to pilot the FOI Act through the Scottish Parliament, and to establish a right in law for the public to access officially-held information. On the 20th anniversary of the Act coming into force, it is fair to say that this landmark legislation has made a difference.”.
Further guidance on using FOI rights to access information from public bodies is available at www.foi.scot/yourrights.
Notes to Editors:
Freedom of information facts:
- The first FOI law was introduced in 1766, in Sweden.
- It was another 200 years before a second law was introduced, with the United States introducing its FOI Act in 1966.
- More than 100 countries have now implemented some form of FOI law.
- The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act came into force on 1st January 2005.
FOI rights – at a glance:
- FOI gives you a right to receive information from public authorities
- FOI applies to public authorities, including local councils, the Scottish Government, colleges, universities, the NHS and Police Scotland
- FOI gives a right to recorded information: that is information stored and held in some way
- Requests must be made in a recorded format e.g. in a letter, email or audio file
- If you need help to make a request, public authorities must help you
- Public authorities must respond promptly, and within 20 working days
- Most requests result in information being provided
- Most information is provided free of charge
- Information can only be withheld in some limited circumstances
- FOI requires authorities to publish certain information, to save you having to ask for it
- If you’re unhappy for any reason you can, after asking the authority to reconsider its response, appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner
- If the Commissioner thinks an authority has acted wrongly in withholding information from you, he can tell the authority to disclose it
- More information on using FOI rights is available at: www.foi.scot/yourrights
Public support for FOI
Research carried out by ScotPulse in 2024 found strong public support for FOI, finding that:
- 97% of respondents agreed that it was important for the public to be able to access the information held by public bodies.
- 83% agreed that FOI helps prevent bad practice in public bodies.
- 93% felt that FOI should be extended to cover publicly-funded health and social care services (including care homes).
- 94% felt that FOI should apply to bodies carrying out large building and maintenance projects on behalf of a public body
- 89% agreed that all organisations that provide public services under contract to a public body should fall within scope.
- 79% felt that it should be a criminal offence for public bodies or their officials to try to subvert FOI legislation.
- Only 6% of respondents felt that FOI was a waste of public money (the lowest proportion since this question was first asked in 2011).
For more information visit: www.foi.scot/survey-finds-strong-public-support-foi
Lord Wallace of Tankerness – full quote:
An expanded quote from Lord Wallace of Tankerness, who piloted the FOI Bill through the Scottish Parliament as Deputy First Minister, is published below:
"It was a privilege to be able to pilot the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 through the Scottish Parliament, and to establish a right in law for the public to access officially-held information. On the 20th anniversary of the Act coming into force, it is fair to say that this landmark legislation has made a difference.
“And whilst many reports about information revealed through FOI requests may result from queries submitted by journalists or politicians', the reality is that the overwhelming majority of requests come from ordinary citizens trying to uncover or understand the basis for decisions which affect their lives.
“But I was always at pains to say that legislation would only take us so far. It had to be accompanied by a change in culture. In spite of high profile cases where officialdom still appears to want to cling to the cloak of secrecy, I sense from comments received, that across a range of public bodies, there is a greater willingness than before to embrace openness. Nevertheless, public sector bodies need to view FOI, not as a useful add-on, but as an essential element of public service provision.
“Moreover, as we celebrate 20 years of Freedom of Information in Scotland, we must not rest on laurels. Government and the Scottish Parliament must always be seeking to ensure that the legislation keeps pace with new challenges."
