Amid all the will-she, won’t-she chat regarding the Prime Minister’s engagement (or lack of) with election debates and the news media, a separate stooshie is brewing north of the Border on the handling of freedom of information (FoI) requests.
A number of journalists from across Scotland’s media have published an open letter highlighting concerns regarding the handling of freedom of information requests. Signatories from national newspapers, broadcasters and online platforms say they can cite a variety of circumstances where requests are being delayed, ignored, screened for potential political damage by special advisers or simply blocked for “tenuous reasons”. Highlighting a trend towards informal discussions with no formal minutes or records kept, the signatories have addressed their concerns to the MSPs who will meet next week to select Scotland’s new information commissioner. The letter concludes with a call for a review of the operation of FoI legislation: "We believe that review should also look closely at the question of whether the legislation should include a duty to record on government officials, advisers and ministers, particularly when meeting with outside bodies, individuals or lobbyists to discuss government policy."
The acting commissioner has welcomed the letter, saying: "The journalists' experience points to potentially serious breaches of a statutory duty. The commissioner can investigate these breaches, but only if they are appealed to us." In response, a spokesperson for the Scottish Government dismissed the suggestion that the approach wasn’t compliant, commenting "We take our responsibility for FoI seriously and in the large majority of cases we respond on time and in full. At the same time, the increasing volume and complexity of some requests can prove time consuming, and has the potential to seriously impact on the work of government."
The signatories to the letter include all five of the journalists that founded The Ferret, an investigative journalism co-operative. As a separate initiative, funded by Google’s Digital News Initiative, they have also established the Ferret Fact Check which has published a number of initial assessments of the veracity of political claims. Their several determinations so far have assessed the truthfulness of statements, including a) no mature democracy allows 16-year-olds the right to vote (found to be false) b) teacher numbers have fallen under the SNP (found to be true) and c) ‘rape clause’ exemptions only require a tick in a box (found to be false).
Moves to finalise the guidelines of Scotland’s new Lobbying Register are underway with this week’s appointment of a working group (including yours truly). Drawn from different sectors, the group’s role is to provide further input on the practicalities of delivering the Act including a review of draft guidance. With a ‘go live’ date scheduled for 2018, all those likely to be engaged in registrable activity should be timetabling in some early thinking on the manner and means by which public affairs activity is gathered and recorded.
And finally... spare a thought this week for the elections office at Scottish Borders Council. Along with many returning-officer colleagues, there was no rest between local elections on the 4th May and preparations for the general election on the 8th June. But, add a Holyrood by-election into the mix and suddenly there are two different franchises to juggle, requiring completely separate polling arrangements (and double the staffing) on the same day, often in the same building. In total, 88 of SBC’s 204 polling stations are affected, with some polling stations not operating as they are too small to accommodate the necessary separation between the two systems.
News in brief:
- Holyrood’s Health & Sport Committee has agreed to undertake an inquiry into Technology and Innovation in the NHS and has issued a call for views, closing Monday 12th July.
- The membership of the group which is to undertake an independent review into Scotland’s care system has been announced.
- A busy time ahead for energy officials as not one but four consultations closed this week: on Scotland’s energy strategy, on an energy efficiency programme, on the draft onshore wind policy and on unconventional oil and gas.