8 April 2026
The Scottish Information Commissioner has today [8 April 2026] issued the first ever FOI Practice Recommendation relating to poor record keeping at a Scottish public authority. The Recommendation was made to Perth and Kinross Council and is intended to strengthen compliance with the Code of Practice on Records Management under Scotland's freedom of information (FOI) laws.
In December 2024, an FOI appeal was made after a requester was told that the Council held no information about its decision to remove the post of Director of Economy, Place and Learning from the Council's organisational structure.
The Commissioner's initial appeal ruling found that the Council had interpreted the FOI request too narrowly, and required that it carry out further searches to identify information. When these searches subsequently failed to identify and information - with the Council informing the Commissioner that only verbal discussions had taken place - the Commissioner took the decision to open an intervention to bring improvements in the Council's record-keeping.
His investigation subsequently uncovered a systemic compliance issue with record keeping that he has asked the Council leadership to address.
David Hamilton, the Scottish Information Commissioner, said:
"When Perth and Kinross Council took the decision to abolish a director-level post - responsible for the delivery of a wide range of key public services - it did so without a single record being kept, preventing scrutiny of that decision under Freedom of Information laws.
I still cannot fathom why that lack of basic record keeping was judged to be acceptable and hence why I am asking the Council leadership to introduce business rules to ensure compliance with the Code of Practice. I have consulted the Keeper of the Records of Scotland on this action and she supports this recommendation.
This is a timely reminder for all Scottish Public Authorities to ensure their business decisions are appropriately recorded and locatable. Not doing so frustrates the efforts of requesters to understand decision making, undermines FOI rights and breaches the Code of Practice."
The practice recommendation can be accessed here
For further information contact the Commissioner's Media team on 01334 464610 during working hours, or email medai@foi.scot
