Freedom of Information extension of coverage

Overview

This consultation will help the Scottish Government to understand whether there is a need to extend the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to further entities by making an order under section 5 of the Act.

It focuses on organisations that provide services on behalf of the public sector that are not currently subject to the FOI legislation.

Why your views matter

In June 2018, the Scottish Parliament agreed the Scottish Government should consult on proposals to further extend coverage of Scotland’s freedom of information legislation, for example, to companies providing services on behalf of the public sector.

The Scottish Government subsequently included a commitment to consult on extension in its Programme for Government 2018-19.

This consultation seeks to establish the potential range of persons who may be identified as providing services on behalf of a Scottish public authority and to inform how the Ministers might prioritise designating them.

Read the consultation paper. 

What happens next

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us. Responses will be published where we have been given permission to do so.

Once that exercise is complete we anticipate that further, targeted consultation will follow once candidates for inclusion in a particular section 5 order are identified. This is necessary in order to discharge the Scottish Ministers’ statutory duty to consult every person to whom a section 5 order relates, or persons appearing to the Ministers to represent those affected persons.