The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) was introduced by the Scottish Parliament to ensure that people have the right to access information held by Scottish public authorities (those solely based, and operating, in Scotland). The University is a Scottish public authority and is therefore subject to FOISA. FOISA ensures that, subject to certain exemptions, any person can receive information that they request from a public authority. This is a legal right.
The UK Freedom of Information Act 2000, which differs in detail from the Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) 2002, sits alongside the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018 and the Data Protection Act 2018 as the principle mechanism for access to information held by English, Welsh, Northern Irish and UK-wide public bodies.