Extending coverage of the Freedom of Information Act to Registered Social Landlords: interim report

Overview of Consultation

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ('the Act') provides a statutory right of access to information held by Scottish public authorities. The provisions of the Act can be extended to bodies that appear to the Scottish Ministers to exercise functions of a public nature or which provide, under a contract with a Scottish public authority, a service which is a function of that authority.

Over a 12 week period the Scottish Government consulted on proposals to extend coverage of the Act to Registered Social Landlords ( RSLs) on the basis that RSLs undertake functions of a public nature.

Published responses to the consultation are available on the relevant Scottish Government webpage ^[1] .

A clear majority of consultation responses - including from tenant organisations and the local authorities which replied - favoured extending coverage to RSLs. Organisations including the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Unite the Union, Unison Scotland, the Scottish Information Commissioner and the Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland also supported the proposals.

Responses from the RSLs (and their representative organisations - the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations) ranged from those supporting the consultation proposals to those (the majority) against. Neither the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland nor the Council of Mortgage Lenders favoured extending the Act to RSLs.

Most individuals who responded to the consultation supported extension of coverage to RSLs.

A summary of consultation responses forms part of this interim report.

This report also provides a brief overview of the key issues coming out of the consultation exercise as well as the proposed next steps prior to a formal response to the consultation.