MSPs are not covered by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

MSPs are not covered by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

The Scottish Information Commissioner has ruled that MSPs are not covered by Freedom of Information legislation. In a decision issued on 13 July 2005, the Commissioner held that MSPs do not have to disclose information about their constituency work:

"MSPs themselves are not bound by the terms of FOISA and where information relating to constituency matters is housed within the Parliament building and IT systems, it is held by the Parliament only on behalf of MSPs."

The applicant in the case had argued that since MSPs are funded by the Parliament, they should not be considered as being separate from it. He was told that although individual MSPs will hold information relevant to his request, they are not bound by the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).

Information chief says MSPs can keep paperwork from public (The Herald, 15 July 2005)