Commissions and commissioners: executive summary - easy read

What powers do Commissions and Commissioners have?

Some of the different powers that Commissions and Commissioners in Scotland have are listed below:

• The power to spread information and ideas about the best way to do things.
• The power to do research.
• The power to give advice and guidance to people.
• The power to provide education and training.
• The power to get public organisations and the government to respond to them.
• The power to gather information and make it public.
• The powers to review and recommend changes to the law and government policy.
• The power to investigate issues with certain organisations and the power to get people to give evidence and show documents which will help with this.
• The power to investigate people and organisations when they might be breaking the law.
• The power to look into whether people and organisations are following the rules or not.
• The power to enter an organisation which might be closed off and to interview and talk to people in certain places.
• The power to give people and organisations notices which will force them to follow the rules.
• The powers to make organisations agree to start acting in a better way and the power to report them if they do not do this.
• The power to take people and organisations to court and the power to provide legal assistance for people.
• The power to look and individual cases and make sure the law is being followed.