15 September 2026
Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton has highlighted the challenges facing Scotland’s freedom of information (FOI) regime after a record-breaking year, which saw the FOI requests received by Scottish public bodies grow by 13%, and the FOI appeals made to the Commissioner increase by an “unprecedented” 83%.
The findings, reported in the Commissioner’s 2025-26 Annual Report, reveal that Scotland’s public bodies received 111,241 FOI requests last year – the highest ever reported, and up from 98,605 in in 2024-25.
Appeals to the Commissioner, meanwhile - which can be made when someone is unhappy with an FOI response - almost doubled, up from 593 last year to 1,084 in 2025-26.
The report also highlights that public awareness of FOI law reached its highest-ever level during the year, with 93% of the public reporting that they had heard of the FOI Act, up from 88% in 2024.
Commenting on the findings, Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton said:
“This has been another strong year for Scotland’s FOI regime, with increasing demand on FOI services across the board. However, an unprecedented 83% rise in appeals to my office is putting an unsustainable strain on my small team. Without additional, but modest, investment, I will be unable to provide adequate regulatory oversight.
“While the increased use of FOI is a welcome sign of growing public awareness and greater confidence in demanding transparency from public bodies, when coupled with an explosion in the availability and use of artificial intelligence it places Scotland’s FOI system under significant stress."
He continued:
"Demand for FOI has been fuelled by recent cases which have captured public attention and helped raise awareness of FOI at a local and national level. This has included NHS Fife’s handling of a high-profile employment tribunal and the Scottish Government’s approach to transparency around the investigation into former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
“Perhaps the most significant impact, however, has been the role of artificial intelligence on FOI, with reports from the public sector of increases in AI-generated requests. These can add to both the volume and complexity of requests, with evidence that AI tools often suggest that FOI requests are expanded to include extra information that the requester may not necessarily want to know.
“AI has had a particularly dramatic impact on my office, with increases in the number of multiple appeals made by single requesters, supported by the use of AI. This includes one 3-month period where 34% of our appeals were found to be machine generated.
“Of course, the technology can be a valuable tool for people exercising their rights, so we have issued guidance encouraging its responsible and proportionate use. Perhaps the real challenge, though, is ensuring that the machines read it too…
“In the meantime, we are working flat out to respond to the challenges that these unprecedented circumstances create.”
The Commissioner’s 2025-26 report, Increasing Demand…Increasing Transparency, finds that, despite these challenges, Scotland’s FOI regime is generally responding well. It reports that:
- 97% of the FOI requests made across Scotland received a response
- 85% of requests made to Scottish public bodies resulted in some or all of the information being provided (if it was held)
- Only 1% of FOI requests were appealed to the Commissioner
- The Commissioner closed 891 appeal cases over the year – a 14% increase on last year
- 301 cases were closed with a formal decision, with 77% of those decisions finding wholly or partially in the requester’s favour.
- The Commissioner carried out a number of practical interventions which supported FOI improvements in public bodies
- 97% of the public felt that it was important for the public to be able to access the information held by public bodies
- 92% of the public felt there should be a regular review of the organisations covered by FOI law.
This latter finding comes as the Scottish Government continues to consider whether FOI rights should be extended to cover private and third sector providers of care home and ‘care at home’ services – a proposal which is supported by the Commissioner.
The Commissioner’s full 2025-26 Annual Report is available here.
