The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA)
provides individuals with a right of access to all recorded
information held by Scotland’s public authorities. Anyone can use this
right, and information can only be withheld where FOISA expressly
permits it.
Section 23 of FOISA also requires that all Scottish public authorities
maintain a publication scheme. A publication scheme sets out the
types of information that a public authority routinely makes
available. This scheme has been approved by the Scottish Information
Commissioner, who is responsible for enforcing FOISA. We are also
obliged to review this scheme from time to time.
The purpose of the scheme is to provide you with
details of the range of information that we routinely publish. The
scheme also provides details of how you can access this information,
and tells you whether it is available free, or if there is a charge for
the information.
Alongside FOISA, the Environmental Information
(Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EI(S)Rs) provide a separate right of
access to the environmental information that we hold. This publication
scheme also contains details of the environmental information that we
routinely make available.
Where information is not published under this
scheme, you can request it from us under FOISA or, in the case of
environmental information, the EI(S)Rs. For further information on
accessing information not covered by this scheme, refer to Section 11 – How to access information not available under the scheme.