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A new bill to widen freedom of information legislation in Scotland and cover private firms providing public services has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament.
Katy Clark MSP’s bill aims to address problems with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and improve transparency and accountability in public services.
If the bill becomes law, third-party organisations that deliver public services such as care homes would be subject to FoI laws, and public authorities would be obliged to proactively publish certain information.
The Labour politician’s bill would also remove the first minister’s power to override certain decisions of the Scottish Information Commissioner, whose enforcement powers would also be strengthened.
Clark said it was time to end private providers of vital public services being “entirely exempt from transparency”.
In 2023, the outgoing Scottish Information Commissioner, Daren Fitzhenry, described government FoI procedures as “not fit for purpose” in a damning final report.
His report revealed that there was a backlog of 117 FoI cases in May 2023, that some government FoI responses had been delayed for over two years, and that the role of political advisers was “ambiguous” and “anonymous”.
The Scottish Government stressed then it was committed to ensuring “openness and transparency”.
Carole Ewart, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland, welcomed Clark’s bill and said she would work with MSPs from all parties to ensure it becomes law by March 2026, in order “to fix Scotland’s transparency deficit”.
She added: “We are delighted the bill will be considered by MSPs and hope it achieves all party support to ensure the architecture of transparency, accountability and scrutiny so carefully constructed 23 years ago is restored and strengthened to improve FoI practice, meet the challenges of public service diversification and the digital age.”
We are delighted the bill will be considered by MSPs and hope it achieves all party support to ensure the architecture of transparency, accountability and scrutiny so carefully constructed 23 years ago is restored and strengthened to improve FoI practice, meet the challenges of public service diversification and the digital age.
Carole Ewart, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland.
David Hamilton, the Scottish Information Commissioner, also welcomed the bill and said the extension of FOI rights to third-party organisations like care home providers “is long overdue”.
He added: “We need to ensure that the information published by public bodies reflects our expectations in this digital age and it’s also an undisputed fact that FOI has failed to keep up with the way public services are being delivered.”
Main image credit: iStock and Natali_Mis
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