Improving knowledge and understanding
Some of the most common areas of poor practice are caused by gaps in the knowledge and understanding of staff. Even if an authority has a dedicated FOI officer, other staff may not understand their obligations, and turnover of staff can lead to a loss of expertise.
Issues which might arise from poor staff knowledge include e.g. failure to identify a valid FOI request, lack of compliance with timescales, or misinterpretation of the exemptions.
If you identify practice issues resulting from knowledge gaps, there are tools and resources to help you build the authority's capacity:
Briefing, guidance and codes of practice
- The Commissioner's briefings and guidance on exemptions and other key concepts
- The Commissioner's guidance on the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
- `Your Right To Know` (pdf - 4.11MB) - the Commissioner's guide to using FOI law in Scotland
- Guidance on publication schemes for Scottish public authorities
- Resources to help with Records Management
- Section 60 Code of Practice
- Section 61 Code of Practice
The Centre for Freedom of Information in Scotland is a partnership between the Scottish Information Commissioner and the University of Dundee's School of Law. The Centre runs a series of seminars on a range of FOI related issues. To sign up for the seminar mailing list, see what's coming up or look back at the details of past seminars, visit www.centrefoi.org.uk
Other training providers
There are a number of organisations who provide FOI training in Scotland. The Commissioner cannot recommend any specific training provider, but many law firms offer seminars and courses in FOI law. The Campaign for Freedom of Information also run occasional training seminars and courses in Scotland. Contact the Campaign in Scotland: http://www.cfoi.org.uk/scotland.html
>> Back to Self-help tools for improving practice or continue to Sharing experience.