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Investigations by Scottish Public Authorities

  • The briefing provides guidance on the consideration and application of the exemptions under Section 34 (Investigations by Scottish public authorities and proceedings arising out of such investigations) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), and the exception under regulation 10(5)(b) of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs).
  • The exemption in section 34 is sometimes known as a "class exemption." This basically means that if information is held for specific purposes then it will be exempt under section 34 of FOISA. There is no separate "harm test" to be considered.
  • With regard to environmental information, there is a harm test required when considering the application of regulation 10(5)(b). Authorities must therefore demonstrate that a particular level of harm is likely to occur from disclosure before this exception can be applied.
  • Each of the relevant FOISA exemptions, and the EIR exception, is subject to the public interest test.

The briefing is intended to provide general guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant section. Please remember that all requests for information must be considered on a case by case basis, and the Commissioner's decision is made on the basis of the specific circumstances of each case.

PDF iconDownload the briefing (PDF - 548kb)

 

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