Applying to the Scottish Information Commissioner

Q. What if I am unhappy with the review of my request?

A. You can apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision if:

• you are unhappy with the outcome of an authority's review
• the authority refuses to review its decision because it says your request was “vexatious” or “repeated”.
   

Q. When can I appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner?

A. You can appeal to the Commissioner when

• you have asked the authority to review its decision and allowed 20 working days (plus postage time) for it to reply, or
• asked the authority to reconsider the fee it wants to charge you and allowed 20 working days for its reply.

You must appeal to the Commissioner within six months of receiving the review decision from the authority.

 

Q. How do I apply to the Commissioner for a decision?
A. Your application must be in writing or any other format that can be kept for future use, for example, e-mail or a recording on audio or video tape.  See “Contact Us” for the Commissioner’s contact details.

 

Q. What should I say in my application?

A. You must include the following information:

• your name
• an address for correspondence
• details of your original request
• why you are unhappy with the way it was dealt with by the public authority

 

Q. Should I send any other information?

A. You should include copies of the correspondence you have had with the public authority.  Most importantly, please include:

• your original request for information
• the response you received
• your request for a review of that response
• the response to your request for a review

 

Q. Are there any circumstances under which the Commissioner would not issue a decision on my case?

A. The Commissioner does not have to carry out an investigation or issue a decision if:

• you have not fully used the authority’s review procedure
• he thinks your original request was “frivolous” (not a serious request for information) or vexatious
•  he thinks you have withdrawn or abandoned your request

 

Q. Can I always appeal to the Commissioner?

A. There are some cases where you cannot appeal to the Commissioner.  You cannot appeal if your original request was to:

• a procurator fiscal
• in some cases, the Lord Advocate
• the Scottish Information Commissioner himself (as with any other public authority you can ask the Commissioner to review his original decision not to provide the information you requested, but if he decides that his original decision was correct, you cannot take your appeal further.)

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