Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton has today 17 December 2025 launched an intervention to support improvements in the culture and practice towards freedom of information (FOI) in NHS Fife. The intervention aims to address a number of significant issues which have come to light during the Commissioner’s investigation of the FOI appeals made to his office concerning the health board.
Given the nature of concerns identified, the Commissioner has taken the unusual step of launching the intervention at Level 4 of his Intervention Procedures - the highest level currently available. Level 4 interventions are generally undertaken to address serious, significant, and persistent concerns about a public authority’s FOI practice.
The issues identified by the Commissioner which the intervention will seek to resolve include:
- Concerns around NHS Fife’s interpretation of FOI requests
- Concerns around the appropriate identification of information covered by requests
- Concerns around the handling of requests relating to high profile issues
- Concerns around the handling of requests involving personal data
- Concerns around NHS Fife’s co-operation with the Commissioner’s staff during the investigatory process
- Concerns around NHS Fife’s governance of its FOI function.
Commenting on the launch of the intervention, Commissioner David Hamilton said:
“Level 4 interventions are extremely rare, but the serious and systemic nature of the concerns that have come to light mean that this is the only route through which these issues can be appropriately addressed and resolved. While the board is undoubtedly facing challenges, the failure to get its FOI response right has only served to compound those challenges - and is eroding trust between it and the public it serves.
“These issues need to be urgently addressed if NHS Fife is to meet its legal duties, and I will work constructively with the board to help get its FOI function back on track, for the benefit of all.”
In launching the intervention, the Commissioner has asked NHS Fife to designate a member of staff to take the improvement work forward by 14 January 2026.
The new intervention is only the second intervention to have been undertaken by the Commissioner at Level 4. The first, in 2021, was launched in response to the inappropriate sharing of personal information about an FOI requester by Aberdeenshire Council. More information on those circumstances is available at: www.foi.scot/enforcement-action-reminds-authorities-not-to-share-a-requesters-identity.
The Commissioner’s letter to NHS Fife announcing the launch of the current intervention is published at www.foi.scot/Interventions-Activity. Further information on the intervention will be published here as this work progresses.
