The Awkward Squad
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.”
Scottish Labour’s parliamentary business manager Rhoda Grant called on Ms Sturgeon to “address the findings of this report and apologise for bending the law to suit her narrow political interests”.
Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman said: “This is a damning report, and vindicates the complaints of many journalists and researchers that Scottish ministers are slow and inconsistent in how they release information that the public are entitled to.”
The Scottish Government said it would accept the findings of the report in full, and confirmed its internal guidance will be updated with immediate effect.
Joe Fitzpatrick, minister for parliamentary business Joe Fitzpatrick, said: “Being open and transparent is a priority set out in our current Programme for Government.
“We welcomed and cooperated fully with the Scottish Information Commissioner’s review and are happy to accept his recommendations in full to support our continued improvement.
“As the report highlights, we have already implemented a number of changes that have resulted in significant improvements to our FoI performance.
"In the first five months of 2018 we responded to 93 per cent of FoI requests on time, exceeding the 90 per cent target set by the Information Commissioner and a 10% increase on last year.
“Outside the FoI process, last year the Scottish Government responded to over 5,000 queries from journalists in a matter of hours.”
