Scottish Information Commissioner
Here's a letter from the Scottish Information Commissioner explaining SIC's decision in relation to an FOI Request I raised with Glasgow City Council.
Now the Council ignored my freedom of information requests not just once but twice - and only got its act together once the Commissioner's office became involved.
The good news is that the Council's failures have been logged by SIC and if Glasgow continues to behave in this way the end result may be an 'intervention' by the Commissioner's office - in plain language a good kick up the arse!
So let's hope that Scotland's largest council is paying attention.
Dear Mr Irvine
Decision by Scottish Information Commissioner
Public Authority: Glasgow City Council
On 24 April 2018, you asked the Commissioner to investigate whether Glasgow City Council (the Council) complied with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) in responding to your request for information pertaining to the costs of dealing with equal pay claims.
The Commissioner has decided that the Council failed to comply with Part 1 of FOISA in responding to your information request. In particular, the Council failed to respond to your request for information and requirement for review within the timescales laid down by sections 10(1) and 21(1) of FOISA.
The Commissioner does not require the Council to take any action in respect of these failures, in response to your application, given that a review response has now been provided. However I can confirm that the failures have been recorded in our compliance log, and that further similar issues may lead to an intervention being carried out with the Council.
I enclose a copy of the Commissioner’s Decision Notice, which sets out his conclusions in detail. The Decision Notice also explains your appeal rights. Please read it carefully.
The Commissioner will publish the Decision Notice on his website in a week. Your name will appear in the published version of the Decision Notice.
Yours sincerely
Euan McCulloch
Deputy Head of Enforcement
Enc: Decision 096/2018
Summary
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On 3 January 2018, Mr Irvine asked Glasgow City Council (the Council) for information pertaining to the costs of dealing with equal pay claims. This decision finds that the Council failed to respond to the request within the timescale allowed by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). The decision also finds that the Council failed to comply with Mr Irvine’s requirement for review within the timescale set down by FOISA.
As the Council subsequently provided a review response, the Commissioner does not require it to take any further action in response to these breaches. |
Background
Date
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Action
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3 January 2018
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Mr Irvine made an information request to the Council.
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10 January 2018
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The Council sought clarification of Mr Irvine’s request.
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11 January 2018
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Mr Irvine provided the requested clarification, but the Council did not provide a response to his request.
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27 February 2018
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Mr Irvine wrote to the Council, requiring a review in respect of its failure to respond. Mr Irvine did not receive a response to his requirement for review.
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24 April 2018
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Mr Irvine wrote to the Commissioner’s Office, stating that he was dissatisfied with the Council’s failures to respond and applying to the Commissioner for a decision in terms of section 47(1) of FOISA.
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28 May 2018
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The Council was notified in writing that an application had been received from Mr Irvine and was invited to comment on the application.
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12 June 2018
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The Commissioner received submissions from the Council. These submissions are considered below.
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Commissioner’s analysis and findings
- Section 10(1) of FOISA gives Scottish public authorities a maximum of 20 working days following the date of receipt of the request to comply with a request for information. This is subject to qualifications which are not relevant in this case.
- It is a matter of fact that the Council did not provide a response to Mr Irvine’s request for information within 20 working days, so the Commissioner finds that it failed to comply with section 10(1) of FOISA.
- Section 21(1) of FOISA gives Scottish public authorities a maximum of 20 working days following the date of receipt of the requirement to comply with a requirement for review. Again, this is subject to qualifications which are not relevant in this case.
- It is a matter of fact that the Council did not provide a response to Mr Irvine’s requirement for review within 20 working days, so the Commissioner finds that it failed to comply with section 21(1) of FOISA.
- The Council responded to Mr Irvine’s requirement for review on 12 June 2018. The Commissioner notes that this response included an apology for its failures to comply with the relevant timescales, which it explained were due to human error. In its submissions to the Commissioner, it identified a delay in collating the requested information, which it attributed to a misunderstanding as to what information was held: any question as to what is held would, of course, require to be the subject of a separate application from Mr Irvine.
- As the Council has now responded to Mr Irvine’s request, the Commissioner does not require it to take any further action in relation to the present application. He would remind the Council, however, that the timescales for compliance with FOISA are absolute and are not subject to exceptions.
Decision
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The Commissioner finds that Glasgow City Council (the Council) failed to comply with Part 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) in responding to the information request made by Mr Irvine. In particular, the Council failed to respond to Mr Irvine’s request for information and requirement for review within the timescales laid down by sections 10(1) and 21(1) of FOISA.
The Commissioner does not require the Council to take any action in respect of these failures, in response to Mr Irvine’s application, given that a review response has now been provided. |
Appeal
Should either Mr Irvine or the Council wish to appeal against this decision, they have the right to appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law only. Any such appeal must be made within 42 days after the date of intimation of this decision.
Euan McCulloch
Deputy Head of Enforcement
28 June 2018
Good Kick Up The Backside (21/06/18)
The Scottish Information Commissioner has given SNP ministers a good kick up the backside over their poor practice in handling freedom of information (FOI) requests.
Here's a summary of what the Commissioner had to say and a link to the full report is at the bottom of this page.
Intervention 201702106: Scottish Government
Intervention Report: Assessment Phase
On 13 June 2018 the Commissioner published his report following the assessment phase of his intervention into the Scottish Government's FOI practice and performance. The full report is available to download below.
- The report details the findings of the Commissioner's extensive assessment. These include:
- It is an important principle of FOI law that, in most cases, it should not matter who asks for information. The practice of referring requests for clearance by Ministers simply because they come from journalists, MSPs and researchers is inconsistent with that principle.
- The Scottish Government's FOI policies and procedures are not clear enough about the role of special advisers in responding to FOI requests.
- The Scottish Government takes longer to respond to journalists' FOI requests than other requests, but in only one case did the Commissioner find evidence that delay was deliberate.
- The Scottish Government's FOI practice has improved significantly over the last year, following the Commissioner's first intervention: average response times to all requests, including journalists' requests have reduced.
- The Commissioner makes seven recommendations for further specific improvements to: clearance procedures; quality assurance of FOI responses; training; case handling and case records management; monitoring FOI requests and review procedures.
- Statistical analysis of data from 7,318 FOI requests received by the Scottish Government between December 2014 and December 2017
- Inspection of 104 individual Scottish Government FOI case files
- Examination of 87 appeals to the Commissioner about the Scottish Government's handling of FOI requests
- Review of the Scottish Government's FOI guidance and procedures
- Face-to-face interviews with 31 Scottish Government officials and four Cabinet Secretaries.
Read and/or download the full SIC report via the following link:
http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/home/AboutSIC/WhatWeDo/Intervention201702016ScottishGovernment.aspx
Here's an interesting article from The Herald which reports that Scottish ministers have been heavily criticised by the independent Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) over the SNP Government's twin-track approach to freedom of information (FOI) requests.
I've not read the full report as yet, but reading between the lines it seems pretty obvious that FOI requests from people who are thought of as 'awkward or difficult' have been treated differently from 'ordinary' members of the public.
I get the feeling something similar is happening to my FOI requests to Glasgow City Council because senior officials have taken to blocking my requests for information about the WPBR on a 'blanket basis' which ignores the Council's duty to be helpful to requesters under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
I suspect we've not heard the end of this particular and well done to the Scottish Information Commissioner for standing up to the Scottish Government.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16287484.SNP_ministers_found_to_be_operating_secret_twin-track_FOI_regime/?ref=twtrec
SNP ministers found to be operating secret twin-track FOI regime
The Awkward Squad (15/06/18)
Here's an interesting article from The Herald which reports that Scottish ministers have been heavily criticised by the independent Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) over the SNP Government's twin-track approach to freedom of information (FOI) requests.
I've not read the full report as yet, but reading between the lines it seems pretty obvious that FOI requests from people who are thought of as 'awkward or difficult' have been treated differently from 'ordinary' members of the public.
I get the feeling something similar is happening to my FOI requests to Glasgow City Council because senior officials have taken to blocking my requests for information about the WPBR on a 'blanket basis' which ignores the Council's duty to be helpful to requesters under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
I suspect we've not heard the end of this particular and well done to the Scottish Information Commissioner for standing up to the Scottish Government.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16287484.SNP_ministers_found_to_be_operating_secret_twin-track_FOI_regime/?ref=twtrec
SNP ministers found to be operating secret twin-track FOI regime
By Alistair Grant - The Herald
Daren Fitzhenry - Scottish Information Commissioner.
SNP MINISTERS have been operating a secret twin-track freedom of information regime, making it tougher for those most likely to embarass them.
Scotland’s information watchdog found evidence journalists have been “significantly less likely to receive information” in previous years, with “unjustifiable, significant delays” and disregard for legal timescales.
It comes amid on ongoing row over the Scottish Government’s handling of FoI requests and the involvement of special advisers.
Critics branded the findings "outrageous", and accused the SNP of meddling in the FoI process to "stop bad news happening".
In a humiliating intervention, the Scottish Information Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry called on the Government to end its practice of treating journalists, MSPs and political researchers differently “because of who or what they are”.
His report found: “Journalists, together with MSPs and political researchers, are expressly made subject to a different process for clearance than other requester groups.
“This is inconsistent with the applicant-blind principle of FoI legislation. Their requests are almost invariably subjected to an additional layer of clearance which is likely to delay consideration of the case.”
In 2015/16, only 27 per cent of media requests were met with full disclosure, compared with 42 per cent of FoIs submitted by others.
When she took office, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to lead the most open and accessible government ever.
But Scottish Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins insisted the report “exposes Nicola Sturgeon’s secret Scotland”.
He said: “It reveals an SNP government which not only deliberately stands in the way of legally-binding FoI requests made by the media, but goes to great lengths to delay or influence what information is provided.
“That is completely contrary to Scotland’s FoI legislation. People will see this report and conclude the SNP government is trying to stop bad news happening, and its woeful performance being publicised, by meddling in this process.
“That is outrageous, and all cabinet ministers involved, and indeed the First Minister, have urgent questions to answer.”
Daren Fitzhenry - Scottish Information Commissioner.
SNP MINISTERS have been operating a secret twin-track freedom of information regime, making it tougher for those most likely to embarass them.
Scotland’s information watchdog found evidence journalists have been “significantly less likely to receive information” in previous years, with “unjustifiable, significant delays” and disregard for legal timescales.
It comes amid on ongoing row over the Scottish Government’s handling of FoI requests and the involvement of special advisers.
Critics branded the findings "outrageous", and accused the SNP of meddling in the FoI process to "stop bad news happening".
In a humiliating intervention, the Scottish Information Commissioner Daren Fitzhenry called on the Government to end its practice of treating journalists, MSPs and political researchers differently “because of who or what they are”.
His report found: “Journalists, together with MSPs and political researchers, are expressly made subject to a different process for clearance than other requester groups.
“This is inconsistent with the applicant-blind principle of FoI legislation. Their requests are almost invariably subjected to an additional layer of clearance which is likely to delay consideration of the case.”
In 2015/16, only 27 per cent of media requests were met with full disclosure, compared with 42 per cent of FoIs submitted by others.
When she took office, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to lead the most open and accessible government ever.
But Scottish Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins insisted the report “exposes Nicola Sturgeon’s secret Scotland”.
He said: “It reveals an SNP government which not only deliberately stands in the way of legally-binding FoI requests made by the media, but goes to great lengths to delay or influence what information is provided.
“That is completely contrary to Scotland’s FoI legislation. People will see this report and conclude the SNP government is trying to stop bad news happening, and its woeful performance being publicised, by meddling in this process.
“That is outrageous, and all cabinet ministers involved, and indeed the First Minister, have urgent questions to answer.”
