Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum

Contact

Joanne McNaughton

(Clerk for the Committee)

Finance and Public Administration Committee

0131 348 5000

Overview

About the Bill

The Freedom of Information system allows people to access information held by public authorities. This Bill will reform the Freedom of Information system. Changes introduced by the Bill include:

requiring Scottish Ministers to consider proposals made by the Scottish Information Commissioner when deciding whether to make an order to make a public body subject to the system;
creating a process for the Scottish Parliament to add a body to the system;
removing the First Minister’s power to override certain decisions of the Scottish Information Commissioner in relation to a request for information;
requiring public authorities to proactively publish certain information, and to follow a new code of practice;
requiring all public authorities that are subject to the system to appoint a Freedom of Information Officer;
creating a new offence of destroying information so that it cannot be disclosed, even if no request for that information has been made.

Current Status of the Bill

The Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament by Katy Clark MSP on 2 June 2025.

Read and find out more about the Bill

Stage 1

The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee has been designated as the lead Committee for the Bill. A separate call for views on the Bill’s policy provisions will be issued by the lead Committee and published on this consultation platform.

Financial Memorandum

As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM).

Read the FM published alongside this Bill

Making a Submission

Before making a submission, please read our Privacy Notice about submitting your views to a Committee. This tells you about how we process personal data.

Please note that in most cases your submission will be published on the Scottish Parliament's website and may be quoted in the Committee's report or in Committee meetings (which are public and broadcast).

Questions in this call for views Questions in this call for views

Did you take part in any consultation exercise preceding the Bill and, if so, did you comment on the financial assumptions made?
If applicable, do you believe your comments on the financial assumptions have been accurately reflected in the FM?
Did you have sufficient time to contribute to the consultation exercise?
If the Bill has any financial implications for you or your organisation, do you believe that they have been accurately reflected in the FM? If not, please provide details.
Do you consider that the estimated costs and savings set out in the FM are reasonable and accurate?
If applicable, are you content that your organisation can meet any financial costs that it might incur as a result of the Bill? If not, how do you think these costs should be met?
Does the FM accurately reflect the margins of uncertainty associated with the Bill’s estimated costs and with the timescales over which they would be expected to arise?

The deadline to submit your views is Thursday 6 November 2025.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. Due to the time required to process and analyse evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the agreement of the Committee Clerk.

Submit your views

Click here to complete the submission form