The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 introduced important new rights to access information held by public authorities and also requires more proactive publication of information.
The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 give the right to request environmental information.
This section contains information about the legislation and policy background and also advice on how to access information held by the Scottish Government.
Detailed information on how to exercise your rights under the Act is available from the Scottish Information Commissioner.
Freedom of Information - The Scottish Government's Six Principles
Legislation
Information about the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Improving Openness
Consultation by Scottish Ministers on reducing the term of certain exemptions within the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Scottish Public Information Forum
Details of the Forum including its remit and membership together with the minutes of meetings.
Extension of coverage of FOI
Information on the possible extension of the Act to cover bodies who are not Scottish public authorities.
Reports
Information on FOI reporting including annual reports, quarterly statistics bulletins, summaries of requests received and "implementation in the government."
Guidance
Training Materials for public authorities and internal guidance for Scottish Government staff.
Click on the link for details on how to access Environmental Information.
Report to the European Commission
Member states must report to the European Commission by 14 August 2009 on the experience gained in the application of the European Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information. The Directive was transposed in Scotland by the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004. The Scottish Government sought the views of interested parties on this and the report of the SG can be accessed at the link above.