Coronavirus legislation extended to 30 September 2021

26 March 2021

This week, the Scottish Parliament agreed to extend the period for which the Coronavirus (Scotland) Acts are in force. The temporary legislation, passed in spring 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, had been due to expire later this month but will now remain in force until 30 September 2021.

In relation to freedom of information (FOI), this extension means the Commissioner may still conclude that a Scottish public authority has not failed to comply with its FOI duties by taking more than 20 working days to respond to a request, if he is satisfied that the delay was reasonable and was due to the effect of coronavirus on that authority. It also means the Commissioner's office can continue to issue decisions by email.

For more information about the FOI-related provisions of Scotland's coronavirus legislation, please visit our Covid-19 Infohub.