Home Resources Reports and research

Public awareness of FOI

Public awareness of FOI

The Scottish Information Commissioner conducts occasional research to assess public awareness of freedom of information rights and to study attitudes to, and experience of, the operation of freedom of information law.

Public Awareness Research 2022

More than three quarters of people in Scotland think public bodies should publish information about their spending, decision-making and service delivery, according to new research by the Scottish Information Commissioner.

Over 80% of those surveyed also said it's either 'very' or 'extremely' important that privately-run but publicly-funded health and social care services are subject to freedom of information (FOI) law.

The proportion of people who said they had heard of FOI remains very high, at 89%, while 63% said they were fully or moderately aware of their rights to ask for information from Scottish public bodies.

The poll was carried out by ScotPulse in February 2022, with responses by 1,433 people aged 16 or over weighted to be representative of the population of Scotland.

Awareness of FOI rights and FOI law
  • 63% of people said they are "fully aware" or "moderately aware" of the rights to ask for information from public bodies. This is down from 71% when the same question was asked in 2019, although "fully aware" is unchanged at 21%.
  • This decrease was reflected in almost every age group, from 16-34 to 65%; only in the 45-54 group did the proportion saying they are aware remain the same.
  • 89% said they have heard of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA) - a very slight decrease from 91%, although more said they have "definitely" heard of it (up from 59% to 65%).
  • The only age group to change by more than 2 percentage points in terms of knowledge of FOISA was 16-34, down from 87% to 83%.
How people look for information
  • When seeking information about a public body, 59% said they would look at the authority's website; 56% said they would use internet search; 45% said they would send an email or letter.
  • "The authority's website" was the most popular answer in each age group except 16-34, of whom 73% said they would use a search engine (the highest percentage for any option by any age group).
  • 21% of 16-34s said they would look for or ask about the information on social media - the 4th most popular option in this group, and twice as common as it was for other age groups; 16-34 is the only group for which this option 'outscored' contacting the authority by phone or in person.
Use of FOI rights
  • 58% of people have never asked an authority for information by email or letter; 67% have never asked by other means.
  • 46% look for information on authority website a few times a year or more; 26% look elsewhere online with the same frequency.
  • Older people are more likely to have asked for information in writing (38-50% compared to 25-27% of younger groups) and by other means; young adults are much less likely than others to look on authority websites regularly, and twice as likely to look elsewhere online.
Confidence in using FOI
  • 48% of people are confident of getting a reply if they ask a public body for information - down from 57% when the same question was asked in 2019.
  • 42% are confident they would get the information they were looking for if they requested it.
  • 53% are confident they would know to go about asking for information - 38% of the youngest group and 56-63% of other age groups.
Perceived value of FOI
  • Only 47% agreed that FOI helps people be informed - down from 59% when the same question was asked in 2019.
  • 50% of people disagreed that FOI is a waste of money - down from 62% in 2019 (although most of this is due to a shift to "neither/nor" and "don't know" answers; 1 in 10 still agreed).
What should be published
  • The proportions of people who feel it's important that certain types of information are published are almost all unchanged from 2019.
  • How authorities spend money is seen as important by the largest proportion of people (87%), followed by information about decision-making (80%), service delivery (79%), performance (77%) and lastly contracts (down slightly from 74% to 71%).
Who should be subject to FOI
  • 53% of people think it's "extremely important" that publicly funded or contracted health and social care services are covered by FOI.
  • Between 76% and 81% said it's either "extremely important" or "very important" that FOI covers each of the types of services or bodies that were asked about.

Public Awareness Research 2019

Awareness of freedom of information (FOI) law in Scotland is at an all-time high, according to new figures from the Scottish Information Commissioner.

A survey carried out in May 2019 by online panel ScotPulse of 1,392 Scottish adults, showed that 9 out of 10 (91%) had heard of FOI legislation, up from 85% in 2017. However, the study also found that only 7 out of 10 (71%) understood that FOI gave them a right to ask for information from public bodies.

Public Awareness Research 2019 full results (Excel)

Findings

The results of the survey also show that older generations are more likely than younger people to be aware of their FOI rights:

  • 81% of those aged over 65 said they were aware of their rights, but this dropped to just over half (53%) for those under 35
  • 47% of those under 35 said they were "not very" or "not at all" aware of their FOI rights

Most of those surveyed generally understood the benefits of FOI:

  • Over half (59%) agreed that FOI helps people to be informed about public bodies' decision-making
  • Almost two thirds (62%) agreed that FOI helps to uncover bad practice
  • Just under half (45%) agreed that FOI holds public bodies to account for their spending decisions

The survey also revealed a lack of trust in authorities' ability to respond to requests:

  • Only 57% were “very” or “fairly” confident they would receive a response from a request to information from a public body
  • 38% were “not very” or “not at all” confident they would receive a response 

Public bodies have a legal duty to respond to requests within 20 working days.

Survey respondents generally agreed that it was "extremely" or "very" important for public bodies to publish information about:

  • How they spent their money (85%)
  • The reasons for the decisions they make (80%)
  • Information on the contracts they have with other organisations (74%)
  • Information on how they deliver their functions and services (79%)

Finally, 80% of survey respondents agreed that private sector companies who work on contracts for public bodies should be subject to the same FOI laws as public bodies.

Methodology

Results are based on a survey of 1,392 respondents designed by Mark Diffley Consultancy and Research Ltd and conducted using the ScotPulse online panel. Fieldwork was conducted between 21st and 29th may 2019. Results were weighted to the Scottish population by gender and age. A regional breakdown (West Central, East Central and North) is also available.

Public Awareness Research 2017

An Ipsos MORI omnibus poll in March 2017 shows that, at 85%, public awareness of FOI rights in Scotland remains high.

We asked respondents how they prefer to access information about a public body, for example a decision they've taken or a service they provide. 56% would prefer to access information through the organisation's website and 29% would prefer to contact the authority by telephone or email.

Public Awareness Research 2017 Report (PDF)

Public Awareness Research 2017 Full Results (PDF)

Findings
  • 85% of respondents had heard of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002, similar to 2015. There is a reduction in "definitely aware", from 71% in 2015 to 64% in 2017.
  • 94% agreed ("strongly" or "tend to") that it is important for the public to be able to access information.
  • 77% would be more likely to trust an authority that publishes a lot of information about its work.
  • There is strong public agreement ("strongly agree" or "tend to") that the following type of information should be made available by public authorities:
    • how public authorities spend their money (94%)
    • reasons for the decisions public authorities make (90%)
    • how public authorities deliver their services and functions (94%)
    • contracts with other organisations (84%)
    • data and statistics about their performance (93%)

These are the same categories of information that the Commissioner expects public authorities to publish under the Model Publication Scheme.

Public Awareness Research 2015

An Ipsos MORI omnibus poll in November 2015 showed that, at 85%, public awareness of FOI rights in Scotland is at the highest ever recorded level. By contrast, awareness of the separate, but similar, right to access environmental information is just 27%.

We asked respondents how relevant FOI rights are to them. Nine out of ten feel it is important for the public to be able to access information held by authorities. 77% said FOI gives them more confidence in the decisions of Scottish public bodies. 82% of people do not agree with the statement that FOI is a waste of public money.

Public Awareness Research 2015 Report (PDF)

Public Awareness Research 2015 Full Results (PDF)

Findings
  • 85% of respondents had heard of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002, an increase from 84% in 2014. There’s a slight reduction in “definitely aware”, from 73% last year to 71% this year
  • Awareness of the EIRs is at 27% (15% definitely; 12% I think so)
  • 91% agreed (“strongly” or “tend to”) that it is important for the public to be able to access information. This shows a small fall from 95% in 2014
  • 77% agree that FOI gives them more confidence in the decisions of Scottish public bodies. 13% disagreed with this statement, and 9% felt there was no relationship
  • 82% agreed (“strongly” or “tend to”) that FOI is not a waste of public money. Those who agreed that FOI is a waste of public money rose by 4% from 8% in 2014 to 12% in 2015.

Public Awareness Research 2014

Research carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Scottish Information Commissioner in October 2014 has revealed that public awareness of, and support for, freedom of information (FOI) is at its highest recorded level. The research also shows the public disagree more strongly than ever before with the statement “FOI is a waste of public money”

Ipsos MORI Public Awareness Survey Results 2014 Full Data (PDF)

Findings
  • 73% of respondents had definitely heard of the FOI Act (compared to 60% in September 2013). 95% agreed that it is important for the public to be able to access information held by public authorities (compared to 93% in September 2013)
  • 94% agreed FOI is important in holding public bodies to account for their spending decisions (compared to 91% in September 2013)
  • 86% strongly disagreed with the statement “FOI is a waste of public money” (compared to 81% in September 2013). Only 3% strongly agreed (compared to 6% in September 2013)

For the first time, the public were also asked for their view on how important certain factors were when the Scottish Government was considering whether bodies should be subject to FOI law.

The results revealed that:

  • 43% said it was essential for the Scottish Government to consider whether the body provides public services paid for with public money. 36% said it was very important, and 17% said somewhat important
  • Whether the body receives grants or other benefits from public money was an essential consideration for 34%. 35% thought it was very important, and 25% thought it was somewhat important
  • 38% said it was essential to consider whether the body delivers a service that could be thought of as a public service, like prisons and housing, with 39% rating it as a very important consideration, and 19% finding it somewhat important
  • Whether the body builds and maintains public buildings like schools and hospitals was thought to be an essential consideration for 42%. 41% thought it was very important, and 14% somewhat important
  • Whether the body delivers services that used to be state-owned, like railways and energy, was an essential consideration for 33%, a very important consideration for 36% and somewhat important for 24%.

Public Awareness Research 2013

New research published by the Scottish Information Commissioner shows that while public awareness of FOI remains high in Scotland, there is a decline in the level of certainty people have over what their rights actually are. The study also found that the public agree, more strongly than ever before, that FOI is important in holding authorities to account for their spending decisions. While marginally more people were confident than not, it is telling that only 10% were very confident that authorities would respond to them on time.

Ipsos Mori Public Awareness Survey Results September 2013 (PDF)

Findings

The findings from an Ipsos MORI public opinion poll commissioned by the Scottish Information Commissioner, are available at the foot of this page. They indicate that:

  • 78% of respondents indicated that they have definitely, or think they have, heard of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act. This compares favourably with the highest recorded level of public awareness (80%) in a similar poll in 2011. But there is a marked decline in the level of public certainty about those rights. In response to the same question, 60% of the public in 2013 had definitely heard of the Act, compared to the 67% of the public who answered positively in 2011
  • 93% (compared with 89% in 2011) of respondents agreed that it is important for the public to be able to access information held by public authorities
  • 91% of respondents agreed that FOI is important in holding public bodies to account for their spending decisions
  • 81% of respondents disagreed with the suggestion that FOI is a waste of public money, with only 13% agreeing
  • Only 10% of respondents were very confident that they would get an FOI response within 20 working days of making a request, and 12% were not confident at all

There is continued strong support for FOI to be extended to cover additional organisations:

  • 79% agree that housing associations should be subject to FOI
  • 86% agree that trusts providing services on behalf of local authorities should be subject to FOI
  • 76% agree that prisons run by the private sector should be subject to FOI
  • 81% agree that private companies who build and maintain local authority schools and NHS hospitals, should be subject to FOI
The Commissioner's view

Scottish Information Commissioner, Rosemary Agnew, said:

"It is not enough that the Scottish public know that they have a right to ask for, and to receive, information held by public authorities, they must also be confident that they will get everything they are entitled to in good time. We are proud of the success of the Scottish FOI regime but all of us in the public sector need to be telling people about their rights and how they can use them to understand and engage with us positively. And of course the best way for this to happen is for people to see their rights working in action.

This is why this year we added a new question to our poll to assess public perceptions about the most basic provision in our FOI law: the duty to provide a prompt response to requests*. Our findings suggest that we still have a job to do to ensure the public sees FOI as a right that works effectively in practice." (* Authorities have a duty to respond to requests for information promptly and in no more than 20 working days.)"