Free seminar: Access to information? … There’s a website for that!

The Scottish Information Commissioner, Kevin Dunion, is chairing a free seminar at the Festival of Politics in Edinburgh on 26th August. Titled “Access to information? … There’s a website for that!”, the event will cover how new media make it easier for people to ask for information, and how they have led to the creation of new kinds of information using government data.

Attendees will hear from local Edinburgh man, Michael Traill, who became interested in FOI when asking Lothian and Borders police for information some years ago, and now regularly makes FOI requests online. There will also be live demonstrations of websites which take raw government data and use it to provide new and useful services for the public.

The event will round up with a chance to discuss the issues raised with a panel including the Commissioner and speakers, chaired by Kirstie Shirra, a freelance campaigner who started out on her career as Scotland's only full time FOI lobbyist, when she was at Friends of the Earth Scotland.

To book a free place visit www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk or call 0131 473 2000.

Friday 26 August 2011, 13:30 to 14:30, in Committee Room 3, The Scottish Parliament

Scottish Govt drops fight to withhold local income tax information

The Scottish Government has released documents detailing the financial implications of a proposed local income tax scheme following a two-and-a-half year fight to prevent disclosure.

The documents, written by Dr Andrew Goudie, Mr Salmond’s chief economic adviser, explain how the projected revenue from this proposed local income tax had declined by up to £158 million. In order to fill this gap, the local income tax levy would have had to be 50 per cent higher than Mr Salmond claimed.

The legal battle began when the Daily Telegraph made a Freedom of Information request for the revised local income tax revenue projections from Scottish Ministers in 2009. The Scottish Government refused the request on the grounds that the information was exempt under section 29(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, which applies to information relating to the formulation or development of government policy.

The case went to the Scottish Information Commissioner. The Commissioner ordered the information to be released because the decision by Scottish Ministers in January 2009 to delay the introduction of the tax until after the election in 2011 created a weighty public interest in understanding the projections available to Ministers at that time. The Scottish Government appealed this decision, taking the case to Scotland’s highest civil court, the Court of Session. The result of this legal move was that disclosure of the documents was postponed until after the Holyrood election in May.

According to the Daily Telegraph, opposition parties claim this was a cynical move on Salmond’s behalf to hide this embarrassing information in the run up to the Scottish elections.

The case was due to go to the Court of Session, however in a surprise U-turn ministers withdrew the appeal last week. John Swinney, Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth Secretary, said: "While this particular issue became academic given that the information is already in the public domain, we will of course continue to uphold the wider principle in regard to policy formulation.”

However, only one small part of the information had been leaked in a Telegraph article in April 2011. Kevin Dunion, the Scottish Information Commissioner, is critical of how the government has responded:

“This has been a most extraordinary case, throughout which the Government has consistently challenged almost every aspect of my investigation.

It resisted my conclusion that the request was valid; it disputed whether certain information was relevant to the request; it took court action against a statutory notice requiring Ministers to provide information I needed in the course of my investigation; and finally appealed to the Court of Session against my decision which ordered the information to be disclosed.

Some two years of work and £60,000 in legal fees later I have received notice from my solicitors that the Government intends to abandon that appeal and meet my expenses.”

Read the full story in the Telegraph and the Scottish Government’s press release.

The media and FOI - report of roundtable discussion held in Scotland

The report of a roundtable discussion on FOI and the media hosted by the Scottish Information Commissioner and Holyrood Magazine has been published.

Holyrood magazine and the Scottish Information Commissioner recently hosted a roundtable event where professionals from the media, local government, tade unions and the legal sector discussed how the legislation has worked out since it was implemented in January 2005 and how it impacts different perspectives.

The Commissioner, Kevin Dunion, was joined by a number of journalists, lawyers, FoI staff and campaigners to debate the relationship between the legislation and the media.

The meeting was held just a month after the previous Scottish Government said it was not appropriate to extend FoI laws to organisations such as contractors who build and maintain hospitals, housing associations and private prisons.

A series of other proposals have been mooted, however, and it is expected that changes will be made to the legislation.

In Scotland the role of FoI has come under the spotlight again in recent weeks. The SNP announced that it has now shelved plans to replace the council tax with a local income tax in the next Parliament. But the SNP Government came under fire after it emerged Alex Salmond has twice gone to the Court of Session to prevent the disclosure of a memo detailing the financial implications of local income tax becoming public.

The Government is contesting a decision by Dunion, who believes the tax plans are in the public interest and should be released, on the grounds that the memo constitutes "advice to ministers" which is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Full report here.

Using your FOI rights, Glasgow 4 June 2011

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland is providing a half-day training course for Freedom of Information requesters in Glasgow on 4 June 2011. The course, which covers both the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act and the parallel Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations, will provide an introduction to the legislation and tell you how to use it.

The course will explain:

• What information you are entitled to - and from whom
• How to make an effective request
• Key pitfalls and how to avoid them
• What authorities should do to help you
• When requests can be refused on cost grounds
• How the Act's exemptions and the public interest test work
• How to challenge refusals

The course will be presented by Carole Ewart, Co-convener of the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland, David Goldberg, a law lecturer and information rights campaigner, and Chris Bartter, who recently retired after 20 years as Communications Officer for UNISON Scotland, a union which has been a major user of FOI in its campaigns.

Further details here.

Scottish Govt challenges disclosure ruling on local income tax information

Scottish Ministers have appealed to the Court of Session after the Scottish Information Commissioner ordered documents detailing the financial implications of a proposed local income tax scheme be released to the Daily Telegraph.

On February 9, 2011, following a two-year dispute, the Scottish Information Commissioner ordered the information be disclosed:

“The information therein would contribute significantly to public understanding of how and why changing financial and economic circumstances in the period since 2007 had affected the viability of the Ministers’ policy to replace council tax with a local income tax. This could in turn allow informed discussion of the longer term viability of any such plans as economic circumstances have changed in the period since the revised revenue projections were prepared.”

The new appeal means the information will now not be released until well after the Scottish Parliament general election in May.

Read the Scottish Information Commissioner’s decision and the Daily Telegraph story.

Scottish Information Commissioner Newsletter March 2011

The latest edition of Inform, the Scottish Information Commissioner's newsletter, has been published covering the period January to March 2011 and the launch of the Commissioner's Annual Report.

Scottish Information Commissioner's Annual Report 2010

The Scottish Information Commissioner has published his 2010 Annual Report. Launching the report, Kevin Dunion, the Scottish Information Commissioner said:

It is clear from the data published today that the public are increasingly making use of their rights to information. This is sure to continue in the current economic climate, as more and more people want to understand the rationale behind spending cuts.

When public authorities receive information requests they are often faced with a choice between disclosing the information, or refusing to release it. It may well be that the refusal of the request is appropriate, for example where it involves personal data. However, as my decisions over the past year have shown, there are still many cases where authorities have not been justified in withholding information, even where the information might expose them to criticism or adverse publicity.

The good news, however, is that our survey results suggest that public authorities are becoming more comfortable with disclosing information, rather than withholding it, and these conclusions appear to be supported by the levelling-off of appeals coming to my Office. This is a positive sign, and evidence that freedom of information is now beginning to “bed in” in Scotland, with the FOI principles of openness and transparency increasingly being accepted by authorities.

The bad news, though, is a widespread concern amongst authorities that a rise in often complex requests comes at a time when there is a reduction in the resources available to deal with them. Indeed, 41% of respondents to our survey identified this as the biggest FOI challenge they faced.

The Commissioner continued:

Scotland has led the way in the UK since the introduction of FOI six years ago, and the Scottish Government has demonstrated its commitment to FOI by removing exemptions that prevent the release of sensitive information after 15 years. However, the decision not to bring additional bodies, like Kilmarnock Prison or Glasgow Housing Association, under the scope of FOI in this parliament was a significant setback. Increasingly, public services are delivered by arms length organisations and private contractors, it is therefore extremely important that FOI rights continue to follow the public pound.

FOI in Scotland is at a crossroads, and now is not the time to diminish people’s rights. The public must be able to access information on how the decisions that affect public services and public spending are taken.

The Annual Report reveals that:

• 408 FOI appeals were received by the Commissioner in 2010, following the refusal of information requests by Scottish public authorities;
• The Commissioner closed 456 cases;
• 249 formal decisions were issued, 50% more than in 2009;
• The Commissioner issued his 1000th decision since the introduction of FOI in 2005. 1,188 decisions had been issued by the end of the year;
• 74% of the applications were received by the Commissioner in 2010 came from members of the public;
• The number of cases closed without investigation continued to decline over the year, with a drop of 16% on 2009 figures. This suggests that there is an increasing awareness amongst requesters of the FOI appeal process;
• The Commissioner found that a public authority had breached the law in some way in 65% of the decisions issued;
• The average age of cases being dealt with by the Commissioner continued to decline during 2010, meaning that individual applications are being resolved more quickly. The average age of cases closed during 2010 was 5.2 months.

The Annual Report can be downloaded as a pdf here.
An enhanced version of the Report including video footage, interactive tables, infographic and supporting statistics, can be viewed online here.

Campaign "disappointed and astonished" at Scottish Government's FOI "retreat"

Press release: 27 January 2011

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland (CFOIinS) said it was deeply disappointed by yesterday’s announcement by the Scottish Government that it was shelving plans to make private contractors subject to Scotland’s Freedom of Information Act. The government cited opposition from the contractors and their representative bodies as a key factor behind their decision. It had been proposing to extend the Act during the current Parliamentary session.

Carole Ewart, co-convenor of Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland said:

“We are deeply disappointed that the Government has reversed its position on extending the Act because of opposition from the private sector bodies themselves. It would have been obvious to ministers before making these proposals that the contractors did not want to be covered, and we are amazed that merely because they have now said they don’t like the idea the government has shelved it. If FOI was only applied to bodies that volunteered to be covered we wouldn’t have a Freedom of Information Act in Scotland at all.”

In December 2009 the Scottish Government announced that it was considering extending the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA) to: contractors who build and maintain hospitals and schools, who operate and maintain trunk roads under the PFI Initiative or who run privately managed prisons or provide prison escort services. Only contracts above certain values would be covered. Trusts running local authority sports, leisure and cultural facilities were also being considered for inclusion along with the Glasgow Housing Association and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. However, following a consultation exercise, the government yesterday announced that the proposals would not now proceed. It said that a majority of the bodies concerned had opposed being brought under the Act, although there was “near universal support” from everyone else who had commented on the proposals.

The Scottish Government also said that there was “minimal evidence” of people having difficulty obtaining information about the private contracts, for example on road building. But the Campaign pointed out that only two weeks ago the Scottish Information Commissioner ruled that information about the cost of utility contracts on the Edinburgh Trams Project could not be disclosed because the information had been provided by the contractors in confidence to tie Ltd, the public body responsible for the project. (Decision 006/2011 Mr Jim Cooney and tie Limited, Value of tie contracts, 11 January 2011).

Plans to bring the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland under the Act are also now not proceeding, after ACPOS questioned the value of the move. The Campaign pointed out that the equivalent body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – ACPO - had volunteered be brought under the UK’s Freedom of Information Act. The Westminster government confirmed only two weeks ago that ACPO would be covered by the UK Act, a decision originally announced by the last Labour government.

Ms Ewart said “the Scottish public will now have less information about its policing than the public in the rest of the United Kingdom.” She added: “The Westminster government is also proposing to extend the UK FOI Act to other bodies including the Local Government Association, the NHS Confederation, the Law Society and the Bar Council – but there are no moves to bring their Scottish counterparts under Scotland’s FOI Act. Scotland is now falling behind England in FOI terms. When the legislation was originally passed, the Scottish Act was widely regarded as better than that which applied across the rest of the UK.”

Full press release here.

Scottish Information Commissioner's Decisions courses Feb 2011 - places still available

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland is providing a half-day training course in Glasgow on Tuesday 1 February 2011 and in Aberdeen on Wednesday 2 February 2011, both at 1.30 to 5pm. The training will be lead by Maurice Frankel, Director of the Campaign.

While the course will focus on the decisions issued by the Scottish Information Commissioner, it will also cover decisions issued by the UK Commissioner and Tribunal and the Court of Session that have implications for Scottish public authorities.

Details of the training course and booking form can be downloaded from http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/sicdecisions2011.pdf

Please note:
There is a 30% discount for second and subsequent bookings from the same organisation

Advocates and solicitors may wish to claim 3 hr CPD

Scottish Borders Council turns FOI compliance around

Scottish Information Commissioner
News Release: 7 December 2010

The Scottish Information Commissioner has welcomed a report showing that Scottish Borders Council has improved its performance in complying with freedom of information (FOI) requirements, to the extent that it is now demonstrating some exemplary practice.

In 2009, the Council had only complied with the statutory 20 working days allowed for responding to FOI requests in 71% of cases. Between 1 June and 31 October 2010, however, the Council had improved this performance to 99.7%

It has also implemented improvements in its staff training, systems and guidance for the public on making information requests to the Council.

The improvements follow an on-site practice assessment at the Council, undertaken by the Commissioner's staff, in February. Practice assessments help the Commissioner identify where an authority is failing to comply with FOI laws, and then work with the authority to agree an action plan to improve its practice and achieve compliance.

The Commissioner issued his first Practice Recommendation to the Council following the assessment, calling for specific practice improvements, including compliance with statutory timescales.

Kevin Dunion, Scottish Information Commissioner, said:

"The turnaround at Scottish Borders Council is highly commendable, and shows what can be achieved when we work together. Practice assessments are a vital part of my enforcement strategy which aims to help authorities improve their response to freedom of information requests from the public. Good practice reduces the number of appeals that people have to make to me, reduces the burden on authorities and gets information into the hands of the public more quickly."

Full press release here.
Assessment Report and Action Plan can be downloaded here.

Seminar on how to deal with vexatious requests

The Centre for Freedom of Information in Scotland’s autumn seminar series continues with an event on Wednesday 17 November 2010, looking at how to deal with vexatious requests.  The event will be in the Dalhousie building, University of Dundee.  A buffet lunch is served at 1pm, and the seminar will run from 2pm to 4pm.  Speakers are:

• Jane Munro, Junior Counsel, Ampersand.  Jane will share her thoughts on the various legal perspectives of ‘vexatious’ in civil litigation. What does it mean in the wider context, and how does its specific meaning within the FOI Act in Scotland compare?   
• Maurice Frankel, Director of the Campaign for FOI – Maurice is travelling up from England to share his thoughts on the Commissioner’s decisions which relate to section 14 of FOISA, ‘Vexatious or repeated requests’  
•  Valerie Malloch, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.  The SPSO has undertaken work looking at how to deal with difficult behaviour in the complaints process.  Valerie will share their current thinking and practical thoughts for discussion, and look at where FOI fits into this bigger picture.

Why should you attend this seminar?

• This is a topic which past delegates tell us is of particular interest to them.  We seek to add direct and current value to ensure that attendance is worthwhile in these difficult economic times; 
•  The seminars provide access to some of Scotland and the UK’s biggest experts in FOI and other related matters; 
• Sessions are intentionally brief, focused and audiences relatively small, to ensure that delegates get the greatest personal benefit from attending.

The full programme for this seminar is available from www.centrefoi.org.uk/. If you would like to attend, please email centrefoi@dundee.ac.uk or download and post the booking form to Donna Hendry, School of Law, Scrymgeour Building, University of Dundee DD1 4HN.

Adventures In Scotland

Yesterday I wrote a piece for travel blog Gadling.com in which I asked if Scotland was the next big adventure destination. It turns out I might not be the only one who thinks that way, as the Outside Blog published a post today that lists their selection of the top 10 adventures in Scotland.

In 2008, more than 3 million adventure trips were booked for Scotland, generating revenue in excess of £900 million. That number is expected to increase significantly in the next three years, when Scotland is expected to see a 70% increase in the number of visitors who are there to take part in some kind of adventure vacation.

If you're thinking about making just such a trip, you may want to check out Outside's list. They have recommendations for hiking, mountain biking, climbing, and kayaking your way through the famed Scottish Highlands and beyond. After taking a look at their suggestions, you might be surprised to find some really diverse and interesting ideas for outdoor activities to pursue while visiting.

With November nearly upon us, it's time to start planning our adventures for 2011. Where destinations are you considering for next year? Is Scotland one of them? I'm in the early stages of thinking about where I'd like to go next year with places like Botswana, the Galapagos, and Antarctica all being strongly considered. It's nice to keep our options open. :)

Scottish Information Commissioner Decisions

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland is running two half-day training courses in Glasgow on 1 February 2011 and Aberdeen on 2 February 2011. The training will be lead by Maurice Frankel, Director of the Campaign.

While the courses will focus on the decisions issued by the Scottish Information Commissioner and Court of Session, they will also cover decisions issued by the UK Commissioner and Tribunal that have implications for Scottish public authorities.

Download the course leaflet here.

Freedom of Information - What Difference has it Made?

The Scottish Information Commissioner hosted an event at the Scottish Parliament's Festival of Politics event on the impact that FOI has had in Scotland.

This event brought together a range of people who have actively used Scotland's FOI laws and who have achieved significant successes as a result. Participants included Michelle Stewart of the C Diff Justice Group, Bill Scott from the disabled persons' organisation Inclusion Scotland and Sandy Longmuir, founder of the Scottish Rural Schools Network. Each discussed how FOI has enabled them to access important information which would almost certainly have been inaccessible prior to 2005 - information which has gone on to play a pivotal role in their wider campaigning activity.

You can listen to recordings of all the presentations from 'Freedom of Information - what difference has it made?' on the Scottish Information Commissioner's website at: www.itspublicknowledge.info/FestivalOfPolitics

Scottish Information Commissioner launches consultation on publication schemes

The Scottish Information Commissioner is consulting on a fresh approach to publication schemes.

The Commissioner is seeking views on a proposal to introduce a single model publication scheme, suitable for adoption by all Scottish public authorities. The new approach would require authorities to formally notify the Commissioner that they had adopted the model, and to produce a detailed guide to information, to help the public find publications.  It is proposed that the Commissioner's staff would focus their effort on monitoring compliance with the model. Authorities who felt they could not adopt the single model would be invited to submit their reasons to the Commissioner for consideration.

The consultation is aimed at:

• public authorities who must comply with the duty to adopt a publication scheme;
• members of the public who may use schemes to access published information; and
• anyone with a general interest.

Download the consultation paper and response form with consultation questions here. NOTE: you must complete the 'Consultation Response Form' and submit this with your consultation questions responses.

Responses must be sent to Sarah Hutchison, Head of Policy and Information, Scottish Information Commissioner's Office, Kinburn Castle, St Andrews KY16 9DS, or email to publicationschemes@itspublicknowledge.info

The deadline for responses is 29 October 2010.

SIC's 1,000th decision orders Scottish Government to release meeting data

News release
30 July 2010

Freedom of information in Scotland reaches a new landmark today [Friday 30 July] as the Scottish Information Commissioner publishes his 1000th decision, ordering the Scottish Government to release information about the meetings of its Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), and to carry out further searches for relevant information.

The decision deals with a request made by a journalist from a Scottish national newspaper, for information about the costs and administrative arrangements for the first five meetings of the CEA - the group of economists and industry figures that advises the Scottish Government on economic affairs.

In his ruling, the Commissioner finds that the Government failed to put forward an appropriate justification for the non-disclosure of data, while also failing to confirm to him that officials had appropriately searched for all relevant information.

Publishing his decision, Kevin Dunion, the Scottish Information Commissioner, said:
"I have now issued a substantial body of rulings in the five and a half years since Scotland's freedom of information laws came into force. This 1000th case is not untypical. Around two thirds of my decisions find in favour, or partially in favour, of the applicant.

"By now, all public authorities should be fully aware of their duties when responding to FOI requests. They should understand the need to present clear arguments when they decide to withhold information and those arguments should stand up to scrutiny in the event of an appeal. Where, as in this case, a public authority fails to make an appropriate case, I will order the release of information. With all this experience behind us, I expect authorities to get their responses - to FOI requesters and to me - right first time."

The Commissioner requires the Government to release the withheld information by 6 September 2010.

Full press release here.
Decision 129/2010 Mr Tom Gordon of the Sunday Herald and the Scottish Ministers here. 

Further consultation on extending the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act

The Scottish Government has published a consultation paper seeking views on whether the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act should be extended to cover the following bodies:

• contractors who run privately managed prisons and provide prisoner escort services;
• leisure, sport and cultural trusts and bodies used by local authorities;
• the Glasgow Housing Association;
• the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland;
• contractors who build and maintain schools;
• contractors who build and maintain hospitals; and
• contractors who build, manage and maintain trunk roads under private finance contracts.

The consultation paper states:

At this stage the Scottish Government has not reached firm conclusions on which bodies it would be appropriate to extend coverage to. We are particularly mindful of the importance of establishing whether coverage would place undue financial burdens upon bodies at a time of economic difficulties. Creating additional regulatory or financial requirements must be appropriate and proportionate.

This consultation paper therefore formally seeks the views of the bodies listed above (or their representative bodies) on their coverage by the Act, and the views of any other interested parties. Each section explores the issues raised with us to date about covering a particular type of body, presents our rationale for extending coverage, and asks certain questions.

The responses we receive to this consultation paper are therefore key and will directly contribute to the evidence base on which a decision will be reached. 

The consultation is open for 14 weeks until 2 November 2010. The Government will then consider whether to bring forward an Order under section 5 of the Act. The consultation paper suggests that the Order would come into force after 12 months, to allow the bodies concerned to make the necessary preparations for meeting the Act's requirements.

The Scottish Information Commissioner welcomed the consultation:

In my response to the consultation I will be encouraging the Scottish Government to press ahead with extending the Freedom of Information Act to the contractors, trusts and other bodies which now deliver public services.  At a time when economic circumstances may affect the quality of health, education and leisure services, the public will undoubtedly have questions about spending decisions and performance.  The scope of bodies covered by freedom of information laws needs to keep pace with the changing landscape of public spending and so I generally welcome the proposals being made by the Government and will submit my formal response shortly.

The consultation paper is available here. Further background material about the Scottish Government's decision to consult on bringing these particular bodies under FOISA is here.

Campaign comments on Scottish Government's revised FOI good practice code

The Campaign for Freedom of Information has responded to the Scottish Government's consultation on revising its code of good practice under the FOI (Scotland) Act. The response expresses concern that the draft code's approach to requests which are phrased in terms of 'documents' rather than 'information' is restrictive and undermines the Scottish Information Commissioner's guidance on this issue. It suggests that the guidance on the provision of advice and assistance could be strengthened; that the loss of specific Scottish Government guidance on the EIRs may have unintended consequences; that the draft may lead to confusion between the FOISA exemptions on breach of confidence and substantial prejudice to commercial interests. It also says authorities should not be entitled to ignore a request for internal review which has not be made to a designated person.

The Campaign's response is here and the Scottish Government's consultation here. The Scottish Information Commissioner's guidance on the validity of requests following the Court of Session Opinion of 30 September 2009 is here.

Scottish Information Commissioner challenges public authorities to "think FOI"

8 March 2010

The Scottish Information Commissioner today [8 March 2010] told Scotland's public authorities that they must "think FOI" if they are to minimise the impact of freedom of information requests. The call coincides with data, published in the Commissioner's 2009 Annual Report, which shows that the number of FOI appeals made to the Commissioner increased by 15% over the last year, and that two-thirds of the decisions he issued found that a public authority had breached FOI law in some way.

Marking the launch of his 2009 Annual Report, Kevin Dunion, the Scottish Information Commissioner, said:

"2009 saw a significant increase in the number of appeals I received. The effect of the recession on public spending may well mean even more requests for information being made by people concerned about public authority decisions which affect services, funding or jobs.

"It is therefore essential that public authorities take steps to make sure they can more readily comply with FOI, giving people the information they want, while minimising the impact on public authority resources. Key to this is assuming information will be released. When staff create information, they should be aware that their reports, emails and notes may one day be released under FOI. All too often, a public authority's reluctance to disclose is less about the actual content of the information, and more about the manner in which staff have expressed themselves. By encouraging staff at all levels to "think FOI", public authorities can encourage a more professional approach to internal, as well as external, communications – making it far easier to contemplate release."

Alongside the 15% increase in applications, the Commissioner's Annual Report also reveals that:

• 73% of the applications received by the Commissioner in 2009 came from members of the public;

• the Commissioner found that a public authority had breached the law in some way in two thirds of the appeals that were made to him;

• the average age of cases being dealt with by the Commissioner continued to decline during 2009, meaning that individual applications are being resolved more quickly. The average age of cases closed during 2009 was 5.3 months, down from 6.7 months in 2008 and 10 months in 2007;

• enquiries to the Commissioner's Office from people seeking advice on using FOI also increased significantly, with a 16% increase on 2008 volumes.

The 2009 Report, which also celebrates the first five years of FOI in Scotland, is being presented electronically for the first time through an interactive website. Additional features in the report include video commentary, interactive tables, user stories, and detailed chronologies charting the development of FOI in Scotland over its first five years. Hard copies of the report will be available by contacting the Commissioner's office on 01334 464610.

The full report can be viewed online at www.itspublicknowledge.info/ask

Scottish Information Commissioner Newsletter Jan/Feb 2010

The latest edition of Inform, the Scottish Information Commissioner's newsletter, has been published:

In this edition, I reflect on 5 years of FOI, and look forward to the next 5 years. I update readers on our new guidance following a recent Court of Session ruling, and report on the events my Office is holding to celebrate the 5th anniversary of FOI in Scotland.

http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/home/News/Newsletter/InformNewsletterJanFeb2010.asp