The Freedom of Information Act 2000 establishes a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. The Act applies to a large number of public authorities, including Government Departments and as such applies to the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland.
You are entitled on making a request for information to the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland (unless the information falls under one of the specific exemptions in the Act):
The Act provides for a time limit for dealing with a request for information - that is, within 20 working days. The Act also provides for an appeal mechanism whereby you may apply to the UK Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether we dealt with a specified request in accordance with the Act.
We may charge a fee for processing Freedom of Information requests. The fees are currently prescribed in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3244).
Making a request
Requests for information should be directed to:
Stephen Feltham
Information Officer
Office of the Solicitor to the Advocate General
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
Or by email to: stephen.feltham@advocategeneral.gsi.gov.uk
Or telephone: 0131 244 0292
Publication Scheme
The Act obliges all public authorities to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme specifying-
The Publication Scheme for the Office of the Advocate General also sets out how to make a request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 or a request for personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998.
You can download the full OAG publication scheme as a Word document or a PDF.