What happens if the Council fails to provide information?
If you are not happy with the Council's response to your request for information you can apply to the Council for a review of that decision. The Council's Chief Executive and its Head of Law and Administration will carry out the review.
Complaints concerning requests can only be made to the Scottish Information Commissioner once you have exhausted the Council's review procedure. If you are dissatisfied with the response from the Council, you can take your complaint to the Commissioner. If the Commissioner decides to proceed he will invite comments from the Council and then decide if the complaint is valid. The Commissioner will notify yourself and the Council of his decision.
Sometimes the Commissioner will need more information before he can make a decision concerning a complaint and in such cases he will issue the Council with an information notice. The Commissioner also has the right to apply for a warrant to enter an authority's premises and seize documents, but such incidents are likely to be very unusual. The Commissioner can be contacted at:
The Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews KY16 9DS
Tel: 01334 464610
Fax: 01334 464611
email: enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info
Enforcement and Prosecution
If the Commissioner becomes aware that an authority is not complying with its duties under the Act, he can issue an enforcement notice, telling the authority which part of the Act it is failing to comply with and what it needs to do to put things right. An authority could be found in contempt of court if it does not comply with a notice issued by the Commissioner.
Although the Commissioner is primarily responsible for overseeing the Act, there are a small number of occasions when the courts may become involved. It is a criminal offence for anyone to destroy or erase information after a request has been received. The authority or its employees can commit this offence. Such cases will be dealt with in the Sheriff Court and the offence carries a fine of up to £5,000.
In most cases the Commissioner will make the final decision regarding the information which should be released, but there is one exception. The First Minister can overrule the Commissioner when the information requested relates to certain decisions taken by the Scottish Administration.
Further information is available at the following websites:
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