What can't I see?

Everyone has a general right to see all recorded information from Scottish public authorities. 

However, in some circumstances information may be kept from you because it is exempt from the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act.

There is some information that is completely excluded from your rights of access - for example, documents prepared for court cases.

The authority may also believe that providing you with certain information would be of real and significant damage to the authority or other people if it were to be released, in this instance the information may be made exempt from your rights to access.

Q. Will the authority give reasons for not releasing information?

A. Yes.  If the authority refuses your request, it must explain its reasons for doing so.  The authority may refuse to give you the information because it is completely excluded from your rights to access (as discussed above), but if this is not the case, the authority must explain to you why it believes it is in the public interest to not release the information.

Q. Can the authority often decide it is in the public interest to keep information secret?

A. When the authority is deciding whether it is in the public interest to provide information or not, it cannot and should not take the following into account: 

• the possibility of embarrassment to officials 
• the possible loss of confidence in the authority
• the seniority of the people involved, or
• the risk of you misinterpreting the information.
  

Q.  What if only parts of the information that I request are exempt?

A.  If your request is for a combination of information that can be released and information that is exempt, the authority should, where possible, remove information that is exempt and give you the rest. If information is removed, the authority must explain the reasons for removing it.

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