25 June 2026
The Scottish Information Commissioner is pleased to confirm the closure of his Level 3 Intervention to improve the freedom of information (FOI) performance of NHS Forth Valley. The Commissioner’s team worked closely with NHS Forth Valley over several months to support performance improvements to be made.
As part of his duty to enforce FOI, the Commissioner carries out interventions in cases where a Scottish public authority is failing to meet the standards required by FOI law.
The intervention with NHS Forth Valley was escalated to Level 3 of the Commissioner’s intervention procedures – the second highest level - following a sustained period of poor performance when complying with statutory timeframes in responding to FOI requests and reviews.
Under FOI law, public authorities are required to respond to FOI requests within a legal time limit of 20 working days. If someone is unhappy with the response to an FOI request, they can ask the public authority to ‘review’ - or reconsider - it’s handling of that request. Reviews must also be completed within 20 working days.
David Hamilton, Scottish Information Commissioner said:
“My Intervention with NHS Forth Valley was escalated to Level 3 following a prolonged period of poor performance.
‘NHS Forth Valley was responding to fewer than 30% of all FOI requests and less than 20% of all FOI reviews within the 20-working day statutory timeframe. Through a combination of positive collaboration with my office, investment in resource, heightened prominence of FOI throughout the organisation alongside the hard work and dedication of the NHS Forth Valley’s Information Governance Team, the latest monthly figures show NHS Forth Valley responding to 94% of all requests - and 100% of FOI reviews - on time.
“This significant improvement not only demonstrates a commitment to statutory compliance, but also a sustainable cultural shift towards a more transparent organisation”
Ross McGuffie, Chief Executive of NHS Forth Valley, said:
“We welcome the closure of this intervention, and it reflects the hard work and commitment of staff across the organisation over the last few months to improve our FOI performance and processes.
“We are committed to maintaining and building on these improvements to ensure we continue to respond to requests for information as quickly and effectively as possible.”
If you want to learn more about how NHS Forth Valley Improved its FOI performance, sign up to our Open Update newsletter for future updates below.
