Revising Publication Schemes
Public authorities have a duty to review their publication scheme from time to time. This page provides some guidance on the process.
Amending publication schemes
The Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner has received a number of enquires in the last few months from public authorities wishing to amend their publication schemes. Set out below is guidance on amending publication schemes and the process to be followed:
Cases where no approval or notification is required
The following amendments do not require approval by or notification to the Commissioner:
• Changes to format, details of the public authority, terminology and contact details
• Addition of new documents/information to an existing class of information
Cases where the Commissioner should be notified
Where a public authority wishes to add a further class of information to its existing publication scheme which does not involve a charge, the Commissioner should be notified of the addition being made. The Commissioner will record that the changes have been made, but the public authority may make the additional information available under its publication scheme immediately.
Changes to the publication scheme’s charging regime should be notified to the Commissioner. In cases where the proposed charges are significantly higher the Commissioner’s approval may be required.
Changes to information describing the Act should be notified to the Commissioner.
Cases where the Commissioner’s approval is required
Where a public authority proposes to add an additional class of information which does involve a charge or where an authority proposes to delete a class of information from a publication scheme, the class must not be added or deleted until the approval of the Commissioner has been obtained. A public authority wishing to delete a class of information from its publication scheme must also set out its reasons for doing so in writing to the Commissioner.
Process to be followed where notification or approval is required
Where an authority wishes to amend its scheme by adding or deleting a class (whether or not a charge is involved) the complete revised scheme should be sent to the Commissioner by post or by email to publicationschemes@itspublicknowledge.info with the amendments clearly marked. Where an authority wishes to delete a class it should also set out its reasons for doing so. The schemes will be allocated to a Freedom of Information Officer (FOIO) on a rotation basis. Therefore the FOIO approving the revisions may be different to the FOIO who originally approved the scheme.
In cases where the Commissioner’s approval is required the revised scheme, rather than just the amendments, will be approved. An approval letter will be issued to the authority with a new review date.
Even in cases where the amendments only need to be notified to the Commissioner the FOIO will normally recommend that the complete scheme is approved.
For further information download the Commissioner's Publication Scheme Guidance