Home About Us News News One of the Commissioner's functions is to promote public awareness of freedom of information. View our latest activity, such as news releases, statements, speeches and publications here. You can also follow us on X (@FOIScotland), BlueSky (@foi.scot) and subscribe to our Open Update newsletter for more from the Commissioner's office. 2025 18 March 2025 - Scottish Information Commissioner requires disclosure of Scottish Government communications and instructs further searches including business and personal WhatsApp accounts 25 February 2025 - Commissioner supports Kyiv Declaration on access to information in times of conflict29 January 2025 - Celebrating 20 years of FOI - in 20 numbers2 January 2025 - Celebrating 20 years of freedom of information 2024 29 December 2024 - Commissioner calls for reform of FOI rights18 December 2024 - Commissioner's statement following the independent review of the Scottish Government's use of mobile messaging tools16 December 2024 - Commissioner's correspondence with the Scottish Government on the disclosure of legal advice2 December 2024 - Join the celebration of some major FOI milestones31 October 2024 - Joint Statement from the Independent Scottish Parliamentary Officeholders29 October 2024 - Press statement: further clarification following the disclosure of Scottish Government legal advice26 October 2024 - Commissioner's statement on the Scottish Government's disclosure of legal advice 25 October 2024 - Summary of FOI Appeals related to James Hamilton report and investigation23 October 2024 - Commissioner publishes legal advice from court appeal11 October 2024 - Scottish Information Commissioner visits Ukraine to help develop FOI framework for Martial Law28 September 2024 - On International Right to Know day, our Ukrainian colleague Alex Bezverkhnia considers the differences between the Scottish and Ukranian FOI laws26 September 2024 - Commissioner David Hamilton marks International Right to Know day with reflection on the value of international FOI relations9 September 2024 - Commissioner requires disclosure of Scottish Government legal advice on failed freedom of information appeal21 June 2024 - Commissioner escalates intervention to bring FOI improvement to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde3 June 2024 - We've moved our digital home!29 May 2024 - Survey finds strong public support for FOI - alongside support for a stronger FOI law20 March 2024 - Read our 2023 Holyrood Conference Workshop - Improving FOI Performance - Tips from Practitioners4 February 2024 - Commissioner launches new intervention into Scottish Government use of informal communication tools 2023 19 December 2023 - Commissioner launches new approach to resolve FOI appeals6 December 2023 - Commissioner welcomes decision of the Court of Appeal2 November 2023 - Statement on the status of 'non-corporate' messaging tools under FOI law12 October 2023 - Commissioner's report calls for more to be done to bring Scottish Government FOI improvement6 October 2023 - 2022-23 Annual Report and Accounts published28 September 2023 - Commissioner's statement on the closure of EIR requests by SEPA27 September 2023 - Reflections from the Commissioner12 July 2023 - European Case Handling Event18 May 2023 - Public authority award winners share their experience for better FOI14 March 2023 - Commissioner sets out his view on the reform of FOI in Scotland 2022 8 December 2022: Read highlights from our 'Beat the FOI Clock' workshop 8 December 2022: FOI Consultations: Share your views on how FOI can be improved 24 November 2022: eCase FOI Awards 2023 2 November 2022: 2021-22 Report to the Scottish Parliament published 2 November 2022: Commissioner reports significant increase in FOI appeals 13 September 2022: 19 September declared an official bank holiday in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth II 9 August 2022: Research finds FOI staff view FOI as an important public right 20 July 2022: Launch of free-to-attend Centre for FOI Practitioners' Conference 20 May 2022: New FOI opinion polling results released 17 May 2022: Commissioner finds more work required to bring sustained improvement in Scottish Government FOI performance 8 March 2022: Scottish Public Information Forum explores changes to FOI law 13 January 2022: New report recommends improvements to strengthen post-pandemic FOI 11 January 2022: Commissioner launches FOI Practitioners Survey 2021 2021 17 December 2021: Temporary premises closure extended to 28 February 2022 16 December 2021: Enforcement action reminds authorities not to share a requester's identity 26 November 2021: Read highlights from our workshop to improve public authority FOI performance 23 November 2021: Commissioner reflects on FOI in 2021 15 October 2021: Scottish Information Commissioner publishes Annual Report 2020-21 12 October 2021: Shining a spotlight on access to environmental information 5 October 2021: Online events mark Access to Information Day 1 October 2021: Latest changes to FOI legislation now in force 20 September 2021: Temporary premises closure extended to 31 December 2021 9 September 2021: The time is right to improve our access to information 8 September 2021: "A highlight in the calendar" - online conference showcases resilience of FOI practitioners 11 August 2021: Commissioner's appeal portal closed 6 July 2021: Full programme confirmed for FOI Practitioners' Conference 2 July 2021: Information Commissioners highlight importance of proactive publication 21 June 2021: Changes to FOI legislation set to be phased out 26 May 2021: Temporary premises closure extended to 30 September 2021 18 May 2021: The FOI Practitioners' Conference is back - book your place now 18 May 2021: MySociety 'Reforming FOI' report 18 May 2021: Time to renew Scotland's approach to FOI publication 7 April 2021: Changing how we seek information from authorities 26 March 2021: Coronavirus legislation extended to 30 September 2021 18 March 2021: FOI rights remain during the pre-election period 16 March 2021: Housing association experience can inform the future of FOI 11 March 2021: Registered Social Landlords 'responding well' to FOI 9 March 2021: Scottish Government announces intention to consult on changes to FOI 2020 2020 Note: the following links lead to the previous version of our website, in the National Records of Scotland's Web Archive. 17 December 2020: Commissioner's Special Report on impact of Covid-19 on FOI published 4 December 2020: New FOI email newsletter launched 1 December 2020: Commissioner reflects on 2020: Information has never been more important 30 October 2020: Update: Temporary premises closure extended to 28 February 2021 28 September 2020: Access to Information Day: Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry highlights importance of FOI 25 September 2020: FOI in changing times: Commissioner publishes Annual Report 2019-2020 18 September 2020: Update: Temporary premises closure extended to 19 October 2020 10 September 2020: Commissioner publishes report on Scottish Government FOI performance 10 August 2020: Update: Temporary premises closure extended to 21 September 2020 27 July 2020: Update: Temporary premises closure extended to 10 August 2020 23 June 2020: Service update: Temporary premises closure extended to 31 July 2020 17 June 2020: Commissioner's letter to Committee about report on post-legislative scrutiny of FOI Act [PDF] 8 June 2020: The Herald: Commissioner's article highlights importance of FOI 8 June 2020: UPDATE: Our services and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic 28 May 2020: New changes to emergency FOI provisions now in force 21 May 2020: Changes to FOI timescales repealed by new Coronavirus Bill 19 May 2020: FOISA Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee report published 13 May 2020: Temporary closure of office premises extended to 29 May 2020 28 April 2020: Temporary closure of office premises extended to 15 May 2020 16 April 2020: New FOI and Covid-19 information hub launched 15 April 2020: Statement from ICIC on access to information during Covid-19 pandemic 6 April 2020: Temporary closure of Scottish Information Commissioner's office extended 2 April 2020: Coronavirus Bill will make temporary changes to FOI law 31 March 2020: Commissioner's briefing for MSPs on FOI provisions of the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill 20 March 2020: Covid-19 virus: information for requesters 18 March 2020: Temporary closure of Scottish Information Commissioner's office due to Covid-19 virus 18 March 2020: Commissioner's Strategic Plan 2020-24 laid before Scottish Parliament 13 March 2020: Commissioner's statement on the impact of the Covid-19 virus on FOI timescales 6 February 2020: Registration now open for the 2020 Centre for FOI Conference in Dundee [later postponed] 2019 and older 2003-2019 See older articles in our News Archive (on the previous version of our website, in the National Records of Scotland's Web Archive).
2023 19 December 2023 - Commissioner launches new approach to resolve FOI appeals6 December 2023 - Commissioner welcomes decision of the Court of Appeal2 November 2023 - Statement on the status of 'non-corporate' messaging tools under FOI law12 October 2023 - Commissioner's report calls for more to be done to bring Scottish Government FOI improvement6 October 2023 - 2022-23 Annual Report and Accounts published28 September 2023 - Commissioner's statement on the closure of EIR requests by SEPA27 September 2023 - Reflections from the Commissioner12 July 2023 - European Case Handling Event18 May 2023 - Public authority award winners share their experience for better FOI14 March 2023 - Commissioner sets out his view on the reform of FOI in Scotland
2022 8 December 2022: Read highlights from our 'Beat the FOI Clock' workshop 8 December 2022: FOI Consultations: Share your views on how FOI can be improved 24 November 2022: eCase FOI Awards 2023 2 November 2022: 2021-22 Report to the Scottish Parliament published 2 November 2022: Commissioner reports significant increase in FOI appeals 13 September 2022: 19 September declared an official bank holiday in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth II 9 August 2022: Research finds FOI staff view FOI as an important public right 20 July 2022: Launch of free-to-attend Centre for FOI Practitioners' Conference 20 May 2022: New FOI opinion polling results released 17 May 2022: Commissioner finds more work required to bring sustained improvement in Scottish Government FOI performance 8 March 2022: Scottish Public Information Forum explores changes to FOI law 13 January 2022: New report recommends improvements to strengthen post-pandemic FOI 11 January 2022: Commissioner launches FOI Practitioners Survey
2021 2021 17 December 2021: Temporary premises closure extended to 28 February 2022 16 December 2021: Enforcement action reminds authorities not to share a requester's identity 26 November 2021: Read highlights from our workshop to improve public authority FOI performance 23 November 2021: Commissioner reflects on FOI in 2021 15 October 2021: Scottish Information Commissioner publishes Annual Report 2020-21 12 October 2021: Shining a spotlight on access to environmental information 5 October 2021: Online events mark Access to Information Day 1 October 2021: Latest changes to FOI legislation now in force 20 September 2021: Temporary premises closure extended to 31 December 2021 9 September 2021: The time is right to improve our access to information 8 September 2021: "A highlight in the calendar" - online conference showcases resilience of FOI practitioners 11 August 2021: Commissioner's appeal portal closed 6 July 2021: Full programme confirmed for FOI Practitioners' Conference 2 July 2021: Information Commissioners highlight importance of proactive publication 21 June 2021: Changes to FOI legislation set to be phased out 26 May 2021: Temporary premises closure extended to 30 September 2021 18 May 2021: The FOI Practitioners' Conference is back - book your place now 18 May 2021: MySociety 'Reforming FOI' report 18 May 2021: Time to renew Scotland's approach to FOI publication 7 April 2021: Changing how we seek information from authorities 26 March 2021: Coronavirus legislation extended to 30 September 2021 18 March 2021: FOI rights remain during the pre-election period 16 March 2021: Housing association experience can inform the future of FOI 11 March 2021: Registered Social Landlords 'responding well' to FOI 9 March 2021: Scottish Government announces intention to consult on changes to FOI
2020 2020 Note: the following links lead to the previous version of our website, in the National Records of Scotland's Web Archive. 17 December 2020: Commissioner's Special Report on impact of Covid-19 on FOI published 4 December 2020: New FOI email newsletter launched 1 December 2020: Commissioner reflects on 2020: Information has never been more important 30 October 2020: Update: Temporary premises closure extended to 28 February 2021 28 September 2020: Access to Information Day: Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry highlights importance of FOI 25 September 2020: FOI in changing times: Commissioner publishes Annual Report 2019-2020 18 September 2020: Update: Temporary premises closure extended to 19 October 2020 10 September 2020: Commissioner publishes report on Scottish Government FOI performance 10 August 2020: Update: Temporary premises closure extended to 21 September 2020 27 July 2020: Update: Temporary premises closure extended to 10 August 2020 23 June 2020: Service update: Temporary premises closure extended to 31 July 2020 17 June 2020: Commissioner's letter to Committee about report on post-legislative scrutiny of FOI Act [PDF] 8 June 2020: The Herald: Commissioner's article highlights importance of FOI 8 June 2020: UPDATE: Our services and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic 28 May 2020: New changes to emergency FOI provisions now in force 21 May 2020: Changes to FOI timescales repealed by new Coronavirus Bill 19 May 2020: FOISA Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee report published 13 May 2020: Temporary closure of office premises extended to 29 May 2020 28 April 2020: Temporary closure of office premises extended to 15 May 2020 16 April 2020: New FOI and Covid-19 information hub launched 15 April 2020: Statement from ICIC on access to information during Covid-19 pandemic 6 April 2020: Temporary closure of Scottish Information Commissioner's office extended 2 April 2020: Coronavirus Bill will make temporary changes to FOI law 31 March 2020: Commissioner's briefing for MSPs on FOI provisions of the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill 20 March 2020: Covid-19 virus: information for requesters 18 March 2020: Temporary closure of Scottish Information Commissioner's office due to Covid-19 virus 18 March 2020: Commissioner's Strategic Plan 2020-24 laid before Scottish Parliament 13 March 2020: Commissioner's statement on the impact of the Covid-19 virus on FOI timescales 6 February 2020: Registration now open for the 2020 Centre for FOI Conference in Dundee [later postponed]
2019 and older 2003-2019 See older articles in our News Archive (on the previous version of our website, in the National Records of Scotland's Web Archive).
