In replying to Freedom of Information Requests Orkney Islands Council’s performance has fallen “short of the expected standards” as reported by the Scottish Information Commissioner.
Some responses were late and in other cases OIC failed to respond. Freedom of Information requests are an important right that every citizen has access to in order to hold public and elected bodies to account.
David Hamilton is the Scottish Information Commissioner. He is ” responsible for promoting and enforcing Scotland’s freedom of information (FOI) law. FOI gives everyone the right to access information held by Scottish public authorities.”
OIC was placed on Intervention Level 1.
The statistics show a poor response by OIC to the public with Freedom of Information requests and “concerning timescale problems throughout 2025.”
| Q4: Jan – March 2024 – 25 | Q1: 2025 – 2026 | Q 2: 2025 – 2026 |
| 25% Responses late/FTR | 30% responses late FTR | 36% responses late FTR |
| 94% Reviews late/FTR | 67% reviews Late/FTR | 80% reviews late/FTR |
Late/FTR = Late and Failures to Respond combined. The statutory timescale is 20 working days for both responses and review decisions.
The Scottish Information Commissioner planned to meet with OIC officials this week, however, that date had to be put back
The Orkney News approached OIC for a comment and an update on what actions it would undertake to improve on this poor performance.
A spokesperson for OIC commented:
The Council takes its Freedom of Information obligations seriously and is ready to engage with the Scottish Information Commissioner around the time taken to respond to some of the FOI requests received – and how any concerns might be suitably addressed in the context of the Council’s budgetary constraints going forward.
We are aware that the Commissioner is intending to meet with a number of organisations in the local area. Dates in January were discussed between the Council and the Commissioner, but these have since been put back as the Commissioner has advised that further meetings with different organisations will be needed when the Commissioner is in the area. We understand that a revised itinerary, possibly for February, is being worked on.
The Council is currently awaiting intimation of a new date.
What is a Level 1 Intervention? Scottish Information Commissioner.
Level 1 interventions aim to remedy failures to follow good practice. They are opened in order to set out and record concerns – such as failures to meet statutory timescales, issues with publication schemes, failures to submit quarterly statistics or other similar breaches – and require action. Where necessary, a Level 1 intervention may begin with a request for further information in relation to an initial concern, in order to determine the nature of the action required. All relevant documentation related to Level 1 interventions is recorded in an intervention case file in the case management system.
If the authority fails to comply with the required action, or if non-compliance continues in spite of actions taken, the intervention may be escalated to Level 2.
Citizens have a right to ask public bodies in Scotland for information. Click on this link to find out more: Your Rights.
Fiona Grahame
Leave a Reply