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CONSULTATION ON THE DRAFT CODE OF PRACTICE UNDER SECTION 60 OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002
ANNEX 1
CONSULTATION ON THE DRAFT CODE OF PRACTICE UNDER SECTION 60 OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002
Background
1. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ("the Act") was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 24 April 2002 and received Royal Assent on 28 May 2002. It will come fully into force on 1January 2005 and will introduce a general right of access to information held by public authorities. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, any person who makes a request in writing (or some other permanent form) to a public authority will be entitled to receive it. The Act will be promoted and enforced by a fully independent Scottish Information Commissioner.
2. Under section 60 of the Act, and after consultation with the Scottish Information Commissioner, the Scottish Ministers must issue, and from time to time revise, a code of practice which will provide best practice guidance to authorities on how to carry out their functions under the Act.
Content
3. The Act stipulates that the Code must address:-
- The provision of advice and assistance by the authorities to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information;
- The transfer of requests by one of the authorities to another by which the information requested is or may be held;
- Consultation with persons to whom information requested relates or with persons whose interests are likely to be affected by the disclosure of such information;
- The inclusion in contracts entered into by the authorities of terms relating to the disclosure of information; and
- The collection and recording by the authorities of statistics as respects the discharge by them of their functions under this Act.
4. The attached draft of the section 60 Code on functions under the Act also provides some guidance on issues such as vexatious or repeated requests and on factors that may inform a decision on the public interest. It also provides advice on the relationship between the functions of the FOI Act and the duties on public authorities arising from the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
The Scottish Executive Consultation Process
5. Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Executive working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Executive, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general, Scottish Executive consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on an area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.
6. While details of particular circumstances described in response to a consultation may usefully inform policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.
7. Typically, Scottish Executive consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to specific questions or more general views about the material presented. The papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the area of consultation and they are also placed on the Scottish Executive web-site enabling a wider audience to access the paper and submit their responses. Copies of all the responses received (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the Scottish Executive Library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH112 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4552).
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