In this my second report as Scottish Information Commissioner I am delighted to report on a year of exceptional performance, efficiency and value.
In this reporting year we issued 335 Decision Notices, our highest ever, and more than the previous two years combined. We managed a 12.5% increase in our enforcement workload, dealt with more complex and high-profile cases than ever before, and yet still managed to clear more than half of our (historic) backlog.
This significant increase in demand appears to be linked to a number of factors – including erosion of trust in public services, cuts to information rights resource within public authorities, and greater confidence in my office as a consequence of more timely and high-profile decisions.
My enforcement capacity however has no elasticity, and the absence of just one investigator or a small increase in demand can result in immediate and visible performance dips.
One key solution to these issues is to tackle the problems that arise at source. By supporting public bodies to deliver a higher quality and more effective FOI function - addressing issues proactively as they arise rather than dealing only reactively with the cases where things have gone wrong - we can improve the system as a whole. This would, in turn, bring real benefits to the public, while also resulting in greater efficiencies for organisations.
In order to achieve this, however, I require funding to establish an intervention resource - one that can be proactive and implement practice improvements at an early stage. This Best Value approach would have demonstrable and immediate benefits that fully align with the recommendations of the Scottish Parliament’s recent examination of the Officeholder’s landscape.
Elsewhere, 2024-25 was also a year of significant organisational change, with IT projects, tactical and operational reviews and some significant capacity challenges, especially in our Senior Management Team. Our reform programme has saved tens of thousands of pounds in project capital and revenue expenditure but these revenue savings have been quickly absorbed by the pressures of increasing demand. We are pathfinding on data transparency with a suite of interactive tools and I am well informed in, and positioned on, Artificial Intelligence and Assistive Technologies.
20 years after its implementation and nearly 1.5 million information requests later, Scotland’s freedom of information regime remains in a generally healthy state. There is, however, a pressing need for improvements, and I welcome the laying of Katy Clark MSP’s Private Members Bill in the Scottish Parliament. I consider the introduction of enhanced proactive publication through a code of practice as a particularly transformative approach to information rights and look forward to advising and participating in the forthcoming debates.
Our engagements with under-represented communities continue at pace, our digital audience has increased exponentially and my programme of engagement with Chief Executives both in group forums and on an individual basis has been particularly helpful.
However, the demands on the regime and on my office are set only to increase so it is vital that I get the resourcing I need. We are a very lean organisation and without such funding, I will be unable to fulfil all my statutory duties.
None of this year’s successes could have been achieved without the hard work, dedication and professionalism of all my staff and I thank them sincerely for their service and commitment.
David Hamilton
Scottish Information Commissioner
