voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
Access to Information Rights in Scotland consultation
Created: 01/12/2022The public and organisations are being asked to give their views on improving access to information about public services.
The Access to Information Rights in Scotland consultation aims to gather views and evidence on what information rights should look like.
This includes whether additional third sector bodies and private businesses should be brought within the scope of existing freedom of information (FOI) legislation, if they carry out work for the public sector or receive public funds, as well as what information should be published proactively by the Scottish Government and public services. The consultation also looks at whether guidance on the use of different technology platforms should be introduced.
This consultation follows the work of the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee (PAPLS) in the fifth session of the Scottish Parliament, to undertake post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).
The Committee’s report was published on 19 May 2020. The Scottish Government provided its formal response to the Committee’s report on 25 February 2021. In that response the Government accepted the Committee’s central recommendation that there should be a consultation to seek the views of a wider set of stakeholders on the need for future legislative change, taking the Committee’s recommendations as its starting point.
The consultation is split into four sections, reflecting the themes of the Committee’s report:
The consultation closes on 14 March 2023.