Scottish Parliament to debate Freedom of Information (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

The Stage 1 debate on the Freedom of Information (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill will take place this afternoon in the Scottish Parliament, shortly after 2.30 pm. You can watch the debate live at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/newsandmediacentre/30912.aspx.

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland and UNISON Scotland are urging the Scottish Parliament to endorse the report of the Finance Committee which scrutinised the principles of the Bill. The Committee called for the Scottish Government to drop the proposed new absolute exemption for information relating to communications with Her Majesty, the Heir, and second in line to the Throne. It also expressed concern around the lack of extension of FoI coverage and asked the Scottish Government to consider amendments to address this at the Bill’s Stage 2 (see earlier post).

The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland has produced a briefing for the debate available at http://www.cfoi.org.uk/pdf/foisa(amendment)billstage1brief.pdf