Public awareness of FOI in Scotland

SIC press release 19 Nov 2007:

"Research published today by the Scottish Information Commissioner has revealed that public awareness of freedom of information (FOI) remains high, with 74% of those surveyed reporting that they were aware of the law. However, the report also indicated that awareness may be lower within particular groups, including young people, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The research, which was carried out by Progressive Scottish Opinion as the fifth wave of the Commissioner annual public awareness survey, also found that:

• 64% of respondents believed that Scottish public authorities were becoming more open and accountable as a result of FOI;
• 69% felt that more information was available from public authorities than ever before;
• 69% felt that Scottish public authorities are more open and accountable than their equivalents in the rest of the UK;
• 57% nevertheless believed that public authorities would find a way round their FOI responsibilities if they didn't want to provide information.

The study also revealed that the majority of respondents (73%) who reported having made an FOI request to a public authority received all of the information they had asked for."

Full press release here.

Public Awareness Research Report here