What is the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002?
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (“the Act”) received Royal Assent on 28 May 2002, and came into effect on 1 January 2005. It introduced a general statutory right of access to all types of 'recorded' information of any age held by Scottish public authorities. Any individual or organisation has the right to ask sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company to provide any information it has available on any specific topic. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, as set out in the Act, any individual who makes a request for information is entitled to receive it.
Why do we have a Freedom of Information Act?
The Act was designed to promote a culture of openness and accountability amongst public sector bodies by providing people with rights of access to the information held by them. It is intended that by granting rights to information, people will have a better understanding of how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do and how they spend public money.
Publication Schemes
The Act requires Scottish Public Authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme.
Authorities are under a legal obligation to:
- publish the classes of information that they make routinely available; and
- tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost.
sportscotland and the sportscotland Trust Company have adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2015. You can see this scheme on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website at or by contacting us at the address below.
Should you wish to obtain information from sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company, we would invite you to first have a look at our Publication Schemes to find out whether the information you are looking for is already available. Doing this could save you time because, if the information you are requesting has already been made available to the public in this way, sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company would normally refer you back to that source.
Making a Request for Information
If the information you require is not included in sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company Publication Schemes you can submit a request for the information to sportscotland’s Legal Officer.
All requests must:-
- be in writing or some other permanent form (e.g. e-mail or recorded message)
- state the applicant’s name and address; and
- describe what information is required
All written requests for information from sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company should be submitted to:
Legal Officer
sportscotland
Doges
Templeton on the Green
62 Templeton Street
Glasgow
G40 1DA
Tel: 0141 534 1175
Fax: 0141 534 6501
Email: FOI@sportscotland.org.uk
If you are unsure about any aspect of Freedom of Information or require advice and assistance to help you frame your request, please contact us at the above address and we will be happy to help.
Responding to Requests for Information
Once our Legal Officer receives your request, they will investigate firstly whether we hold the information you require, and secondly whether there are any exemptions governing the release of the information. Further details on possible exemptions that might apply are available in the Act. Providing no exemptions apply to the information requested, sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company is obliged to provide the information requested within 20 working days.
How do I access personal information held by sportscotland?
Requests for personal information are dealt with under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation ("Data Protection Laws") and are exempt under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Under the Data Protection Laws you have the right to ask sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company to confirm whether it processes any personal information relating to you and if so to provide you with a copy of such data. This is called a “Subject Access Request”.
Further information on the Data Protection Laws and on how to submit a Subject Access Request to sportscotland can be accessed in the Privacy and Data Protection section of this website.
Further Information
If you require advice and assistance to help you frame your request or are unsure about any aspect of Freedom of Information, please contact us at the above address and we will be happy to help.
Further information about the Freedom of Information process is available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s web site.