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Background
1. The Scottish Government is committed to operating its business transparently, and proactively publishing information where possible. In particular, we have recently instructed the National Archives of Scotland (' NAS') to make publicly available the bulk of the historic Scottish Government files it holds once the information is 15 years old. As a result, by the end of 2010 an additional 13,000 files will be accessible through the public search-rooms at NAS.
2. We believe that the practice of making records routinely available after 15 years should be extended across the whole of the Scottish public sector. Over 4 years since FOISA came into force there has been a shift in the culture among public authorities towards greater openness and accountability. The public now rightly expect earlier access to information. A long lifespan for some exemptions therefore seems to us to be out of step with these changes.
3. We therefore propose to allow earlier access to most information by reducing the lifespan of those exemptions in FOISA which currently apply for 30 years. The changes to these exemptions could be brought about through an amending Order under section 57 of FOISA. This would change their 'lifespan' to 15 years, after which time it would no longer be possible to withhold specified types of information from release.
4. However the public bodies which are subject to FOISA are wide ranging and numerous, and we recognise that other authorities may have different views on the appropriate lifespan of the 30 year exemptions. They may, for example, deal with very different types of information than central government and have different views on the period for which exemptions should be applied. Also the users of FOI will have their own views on the appropriate lifespan of exemptions and so this consultation seeks the views of all those with interests in FOISA.
5. At this time although we are focusing on an amendment which would reduce the lifespan of the current 30-year exemptions, and not those exemptions which apply for 60 or 100 years, or in perpetuity 1, we also welcome the views of anyone who has particular comments on the appropriate lifespan of those additional exemptions.
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