Reforming FOI - it's time to share your views

In June 2025, MSP Katy Clark introduced a Private Member’s Bill to Reform FOI in the Scottish Parliament.

The Bill is now being considered by the Scottish Parliament’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, and the Committee is looking for help to inform its scrutiny.

The Bill covers lots of areas – you can read our summary here – but some of the areas where you may want to share your views include:

• Will the Bill help to improve transparency and strengthen FOI in Scotland?
• Should the current ‘publication scheme’ duty to publish information be replaced by a Code of Practice, enforced by the Scottish Information Commissioner?
• Should public authorities be required to ‘pause’ the FOI Act’s 20 working day response time when clarification is required, rather than ‘reset the clock’ when clarification is received?
• Do you agree with the proposals designed to speed up the designation of new public bodies?
• Should every public body have a designated FOI officer?
• Do you agree that the power of the First Minister to ‘veto’ certain decisions of the Scottish Information Commissioner should be removed?
• Do you support the proposal to create a new offence where information is destroyed with the intent to prevent FOI disclosure, even if no request has been made?

Whatever your views on any or all of these issues, the Committee would like to hear from you. 

The call for views closes on 22 October 2025.