Guidance on Exemptions and Key Concepts
The freedom of information legislation provides individuals with a right of access to the information held by Scottish public authorities. There are times, however, when it will not be appropriate for certain types of information to be released into the public domain, and both the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs) allow authorities to withhold information in certain, limited, circumstances.
The briefings below provide general guidance on the interpretation and application of these FOISA 'exemptions' and EIR 'exceptions'. We are currently in the process of updating each of our briefings - as these are refreshed they will be highlighted below so you can see which are new.
Vexatious or Repeated Requests (Section 14)
- Information otherwise accessible (Section 25)
- Prohibitions on disclosure (Section 26)
- Information intended for future publication - Section 27 & Regulation 10(4)(d)
- Relations within the United Kingdom - Section 28
- Formulation of Scottish Administration Policy (Section 29)
- Prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs - Section 30 & Regulation 10(4)(e)
- National Security and Defence - Section 31 & Regulation 10(5)(e)
- International Relations - Section 32 & Regulation 10(5)(a)
- Commercial interests and the economy - Section 33; Regulations 10(5)(e) & 10(5)(f)
- Investigations by Scottish Public Authorities (Section 34)
- Law Enforcement (Section 35)
- Confidentiality (Section 36)
- Court Records - Section 37 & Regulation 10(5)(b)
- Personal information (Section 38)
- Health, Safety and the Environment (Section 39)
- Audit Functions (Section 40)
- Communications with Her Majesty etc. and Honours - Section 41
- The Public Interest Test
Investigations Guide
The Commissioner has also produced a guide for Scottish public authorities on what to expect during an investigation carried out by his office. This can be downloaded below:
The Commissioner's Investigations - A Guide for Public Authorities (PDF - 132kb)