HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland: guide to information

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (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
• tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost

HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland has adopted the Model Publication Scheme (2017 edition) produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner. 

The purpose of this guide is to:

• allow the public to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class
• state what charges may be applied
• explain how to find the information easily
• provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information
• explain how to request information we hold that has not been published

Availability and formats

The information we publish through the model scheme is, wherever possible, available on this website. We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online or by inspection at our premises. For example, we can usually arrange to send information to you in paper copy (although there may be a charge for this).

Exempt information

We will publish the information we hold that falls within the classes of information below. If a document contains information that is exempt under Scotland's freedom of information laws (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we will remove or redact the information before publication and explain why.

Copyright

Where HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland holds the copyright in its published information, the information may be copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that:

• it is copied or reproduced accurately
• it is not used in a misleading context, and
• the source of the material is identified

Where HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland does not hold the copyright in information we publish, we will make this clear.

Charges

This section explains when we may make a charge for our publications and how any charge will be calculated.

There is no charge to view information on our website or at our premises.

We may charge for providing information to you eg photocopying and postage, but we will charge you no more than it actually costs us to do so. We will always tell you what the cost is before providing the information to you.

Our photocopying charge per sheet of paper is shown in the tables below.

 

Size of paper	Black and white photocopying - pence per sheet of paper	Colour photocopying - pence per sheet of paper
A1
A2
A3	20 pence	40 pence
A4	10 pence	20 pence
A5

Postage costs will be recharged at the rate we paid to send the information to you.

When providing copies of pre-printed publications, we will charge no more than the cost per copy of the total print run.

We do not pass on any other costs to you in relation to our published information.

Classes of information we publish

We publish information that we hold within the following classes. Once information is published under a class we will continue to make it available for the current and previous two financial years.

Where information has been updated or superseded, only the current version will be available. If you would like to see previous versions, you may make a request to us for that information.

Note: the authority is required to publish the information it holds which falls within the following classes. If the authority does not hold information within a class, please indicate this below the class description.

Class 1: about us

Information about the authority, who we are, where to find us, how to contact us, how we are managed and our external relations.

• who and what we are
• how to contact us
• our governing legislation: Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 Sections 78 and 79
• team members (contained in guide)

Class 2: how we deliver our functions and services

Information about our work, our strategy and policies for delivering functions and services and information for our service users.

• all work of the Inspectorate including office reports, area reports, thematic reports either singly or in conjunction with other bodies are published
• principles of inspection
• annual reports

Class 3: how we take our decisions and what we decided

Information about the decisions we take, how we make decisions and how we involve others.

• consultations etc with others contained in our published reports

Class 4: what we spend and how we spend it

Information about our strategy for, and management of, financial resources (in sufficient detail to explain how we plan to spend public money and what has actually been spent.

• information on the Inspectorate's budget and details of spend contained in annual reports

Class 5: how we manage our human, physical and information resources

Information about how we manage the human, physical and information resources of the authority.

• general policies on fire, health and safety etc - available on request (contact details below)
• IT protocols with Crown Office - available on request (contact details below)

Class 6: how we procure our goods and services from external providers

Information about how we procure goods and services, and our contracts with external providers.

As part of the mainstream Scottish Government no in house arrangements in place re goods and services. These are provided centrally when required.

Class 7: how we are performing

Information about how we perform as an organisation, and how well we deliver our functions and services.

• annual reports provide information on how the Inspectorate has performed in the relevant year and what reports have been produced

Class 8: our commercial publications

Information packaged and made available for sale on a commercial basis and sold at market value through a retail outlet eg bookshop, museum or research journal.

We do not hold or publish information under this class.

Class 9: our open data

Open data made available by the authority as described by the Scottish Government's Open Data Strategy and Resource Pack, available under an open licence.

We do not hold or publish information under this class.