Importance of FOI

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 was introduced to give the public the right to access recorded information held by public authorities which includes government departments, the NHS, police forces, schools, colleges, universities and local authorities.

Its remit covers all recorded information held by a public authority. It is not limited to official documents and it covers, for example, emails, recordings of telephone conversations and CCTV footage.

Chief Executive, Angela Leitch, said: “It’s extremely important that all FOIs received by the council are answered promptly and ideally well within the 20 working day deadline. Transparency and openness is important for effective government, which the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) plays a part in supporting.”

The FOI Act requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme. Authorities are under a legal obligation to:

• publish the classes of information that they make routinely available
• tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost.

East Lothian Council has adopted the Model Publication Scheme produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner.

“Each service manager must ensure that their service information details are regularly reviewed and updated within the Publication Scheme. By adding as much as possible within the Publication Scheme, FOI enquiries can simply be directed to the relevant information rather than having to research and identify new information. This helps us respond quickly to the 1500, or so, FOI requests we receive each year."

All employees are reminded that a learnPro module on FOI is available on the Intranet along with full information of our requirements under the FOI Act.