FOI annual report shows ongoing level of appeals
Nearly 80,000 freedom of information requests to public bodies in 2019-20 resulted in fewer than 500 appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner, according to the Commissioner's latest annual report.
The report reveals that 79,300 FOI requests were made to Scottish public bodies during the year, 76% of requests to Scottish public authorities resulted in full or partial disclosure of information to the requester (an increase from 75% in 2018-19). The Commissioner made 251 interventions regarding authority practice improvements (compared to 252 in 2018-19 and 234 in 2017-18).
The appeals total of 494, of which 75% were from members of the public, was down on the previous year's figure of 560, and slightly below the 2017-18 total of 507. Of these, the number of appeals under the Environmental Information Regulations remained more or less unchanged, at 85, compared with 89 and 84 in the two preceding years.
On average, cases appealed were closed within 3.4 months, with 67% of the Commissioner’s decisions finding wholly or partially in favour of the requester (up from 65% in 2018-19). Nearly a quarter (23%) of valid appeals related to an authority’s failure to respond.
In the Commissioner's intervention work, for where an authority's practice is, or may be, in breach of FOI law or falling short of good practice guidance, there were again no cases at the highest level (level 4, consistent and ongoing failure to comply with FOI law and guidance), but three cases, the same as in 2018-19, at level 3 (serious systemic practice failure). Numbers rose at level 2 (recurring practice failure, up from 10 to 15) and at level 1 (minor failure to follow good practice) in which the Commissioner required a response, up from 45 to 79, though level 1 cases in which no response was required fell from 194 to 154.
The Commissioner, Daren Fitzhenry, commented: "I am publishing my Annual Report at a time dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. While freedom of information in Scotland has certainly not been immune from the impact of the pandemic, the importance of the right to information is one clear constant.
"Inevitably we all have questions about the decisions being made by our governments and public services. Never more so than at a time when those decisions, sadly, may mean the difference between life and death.
"This is why it is so vital that Scotland’s law ensures everyone has a right to seek information from public authorities and – with only very few, limited exceptions – to receive it."
The report covers the period 1 April 2019-31 March 2020. The Commissioner will publish an initial insights briefing specifically examining the impact of COVID-19 on FOI in Scotland later in 2020. The Commissioner and his team continue to work remotely during the pandemic using secure systems, and most services are still available.