The Scottish Information Commissioner is responsible for the promotion and enforcement of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004(Scottish EIRs). The current Scottish Information Commissioner is Rosemary Agnew who took up office on 1 May 2012. It was announced on 3 February 2017, that Agnew would be stepping down as Commissioner on 30 April 2017 and taking up a post as the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman on 1 May 2017.
This legislation generates thousands of requests to Scotland's public authorities for information. Often these involve high profile, controversial or sensitive matters, which have to be resolved when appealed to the Commissioner. The Commissioner employs 21 staff in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, to help her investigate and decide upon cases, provide information to the public on their rights, and assess whether Scottish public authorities are following good practice.
FOISA came into full force on 1 January 2005, at the same time as the Scottish EIRs. In July 2010, the 1,000th decision was issued by the Scottish Information Commissioner. The Commissioner publishes information on the number of cases she has on hand on his website. The Commissioner issues guidance for public authorities on their obligations under FOISA, and publishes information on rights to information for the public.
The Commissioner is appointed by The Queen on the nomination of the Scottish Parliament, and is an independent public official who makes legally enforceable decisions. They can be enforced by the Court of Session and public authorities may be held in contempt of court if an authority fails to comply with a decision notice.
The first Commissioner was Kevin Dunion, appointed in February 2003. He left office on 23 February 2012.
Holders of the Post
‡ held the post temporarily while it was vacant