The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the FOISA) provides a statutory right for organisations and individuals to access any recorded information (except if exempt) held by or on behalf of Scottish public authorities. A similar right exists to access environmental information held by a Scottish public authority under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Scottish public authorities must proactively publish information, respond to requests for information from the public and provide advice and assistance to requesters. If a requestor is unhappy with the authority’s response, FOISA gives them the right to appeal and request the authority to review how the information request has been handled. FOISA also gives requestors a right to appeal decisions to the Scottish Information Commissioner if they remain dissatisfied and a further right to appeal the Scottish Information Commissioner’s decision to the Court of Session on a point of law.