FOI laws broken thousands of times by Scottish authorities

EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE

Local authorities and many other public bodies in Scotland routinely break Freedom of Information laws on a daily basis by failing to respond to requests within the statutory 20-day period.

Statistics on the website of the Scottish Information Commissioner show that in 2018 some councils barely conformed with the regulations in 80 per cent of cases while others with similar FOI demands were able to comply 95% of the time.

FOI laws (Freedom of Information Scotland Act - FOISA and the Environmental Information Regulations - EIRs) specify a statutory timescale for compliance with (issuing a response to) information requests. So any failure by an authority to meet the statutory timescale for complying with any request is a breach of FOI law. In other words the law sets a 100% target.

A performance report on Scottish Borders Council's service delivery which will be consifered by councillors next week includes a section on Freedom of Information handling.

It shows 85.8% of FOI requests were completed on time in 2018/19. This is a reduction of 7.5% from the level of 93.3% in 2017/18.

The report says: "FOI numbers were 139 higher in the year, growing to 1,418 in 2018/19 from 1,279 in 2017/18, an increase of 10.9%. Completions on time were impacted by volumes and the complex nature of some requests."

In a more detailed critique the document also says: "Whilst we always endeavour to reach 100% there are a variety of reasons which contribute to the occasions when this is not achieved. Requests continue to be voluminous and complex and take considerable time to collate the information, especially if more than two services require input and if there are exemptions to be considered and applied.

"In addition, access to information and data within some areas can impact on our ability to retrieve information timeously. The FOI process is under review to see if we can make changes to improve efficiency. In Q4 2018/19 82% were completed on time, this is down on the 85% in Q3 2018/19 and again on the 86% in Q2 2018/19."

And the report continues: "Performance is reviewed by SBC’s Corporate Management Team on a monthly basis, with response times from individual departments monitored so that any problems or delays can be addressed. Performance information is also being discussed at SBC’s Information Governance Group and improvement actions identified. 

"All staff must undergo training on dealing with FOIs, and the streamlining of processes within departments, as well as the availability of information on SBC’s website, means that we can respond to the majority of FOI requests quickly and efficiently. Services continue to be encouraged to seek advice from the Information Management Team in the early stages to avoid any potential issues."

SBC's statistics on the Commissioner's website indicate that in 2018 there were 836 FOISA requests with late responses in 140 cases. In addition the council received 511 requests under the EIRs, 467 were handled within the 20 working days timescale while 33 received a late response.

FOISA figures for other local authorities include Argyll & Bute 1379 requests (1280 answered on time); Dundee City Council 1306 (1185) Highland 1391 (1154); Clackmannan 1218 (1101); Fife 2141 (1794); Glasgow City Council 3239 (2887); Moray Council 1274 (1232); Perth & Kinross 1493 (1432); and South Lanarkshire 1417 (1339).

Other performance indicators in the Scottish Borders Council report cover a wide range of topics from recycling to creation of modern apprenticeships.

Under the heading Performance Measures - Summary of Charges the report includes the following:

Recycling rates reduced in 2018 (calendar year). The Household Waste Recycling rate reduced to 38.17% in the year, a reduction of 1.71% from 39.88% in 2017. A corresponding increase in the Household Waste Landfilled rate occurred, increasing by 1.74% to 61.50% in 2018 from 59.76% in 2017. Recycling at Community Recycling Centres reduced 0.59% to 57.95% in 2018 from 58.54% in 2017.

Tragically there were 11 fatalities on Borders Roads during 2018, up from 7 in 2017. There were 65 seriously injured in 2018, up from 54 in 2017.

Overall School Exclusion numbers increased during 2018/19 to 265 exclusions, an increase of 50 (23.3%) over the level of 215 in 2017/18. Primary school exclusions fell by 40.8% to 29 in 2018/19 from 49 in 2017/18. In contrast Secondary School exclusions rose by 42.2% to 236 in 2018/19 from 166 in 2017/18. Schools continue to focus on reducing exclusions and providing a more inclusive education.

Meanwhile a section outlining Key Successes has the following 'good news' stories:

"Across our 26 key sites, consumption of Electricity and Gas has reduced in 2018/19. Electricity Consumption has reduced by 5.6% from 8,395,393 kilowatt hours in 2017/18 to 7,921,217 kilowatt hours in 2018/19. Gas Consumption has reduced by 7.3% from 12,671,961 kilowatt hours in 2017/18 to 11,744,734 kilowatt hours in 2018/19. Unfortunately higher unit costs have driven an increase in expenditure, with Electricity costs rising 6.0% from £0.920m in 2017/18 to £0.975m in 2018/19. Similarly Gas costs have risen 4.5% from £0.300m in 2017/18 to £0.313m in 2018/19."

Thirty-three new Modern Apprentices were employed by Scottish Borders Council in 2018/19. This is the largest yearly intake to date. 

A total of 1,497 businesses were assisted by Business Gateway in 2018/19, an increase of 173 (13%) over 1,324 in 2017/18.

And 191 additional Affordable Homes were provided in the Borders in 2018/19, an increase of 31.7% from the figure of 145 in 2017/18. This included 130 new completions and 31 existing home purchases by Registered Social Landlords.