A SOCIALIST MSP formally lodged proposals today for a new freedom of information (FOI) Act “fit for the modern day.”
Scottish Labour’s Katy Clark submitted her draft Bill the day after the SNP-Green coalition government lost a legal battle with Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton over the release of details from an investigation into former first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The case was the latest in a number of skirmishes between the Scottish government and Mr Hamilton, who told the BBC last week that Scotland’s “international reputation has been harmed” by SNP minister George Adam’s decision not to back reform.
Ms Clark’s Bill aims to broaden freedom of information legislation to cover private firms contracted to provide public services, where claims of “commercial confidentiality” often mean that the full facts of contracts are hidden from the public. The proposal received the backing of 74.5 per cent of respondents to a consultation carried out by the West of Scotland MSP.
She said: “I am pleased to lodge my final proposal for a Bill that will finally close loopholes, extend designation, introduce a statutory duty for bodies to proactively publish information and make FOI fit for the modern day.
“When it comes to the public’s right to know, the principle to follow should be clear: public information should follow the public pound.
“After years of polling, committee reports and post-legislative scrutiny, the findings from my consultation demonstrate the wide public appetite for these aspirations to be realised.
“Ministers have thus far refused to commit to private or third-sector designation, just vaguely commit to future consultations on particular sectors. That’s not good enough.
“I believe my Bill is vital to ensuring this Parliament progresses reforms that ensure our institutions meaningfully live up to the highest standards of democracy, transparency and good governance.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said that minsters would "consider the proposals in any Bill the member brings forward.”
