Barely a third of FoI requests to Scottish Government ministers resulted in “full disclosure” during the last year.
New research has shown the Scottish Government’s response rate for Freedom of Information requests is well below the national average at 38%, responding in full to only 879 of 2,310 requests.
In contrast, all public bodies – including councils and health boards – received 81,641 requests, issuing full responses for 46,486 – a total of 57%.
Response times at the Scottish Government were also worse than average, with 21.6% being returned late, compared to 9.6% nationally.
Pressure is growing following journalists writing an open letter raising fears about Scottish Government transparency, particularly around FoI.
Now, Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene will raise the issue in a Holyrood debate today.
He said: “These figures prove the SNP government is paying lip service to the idea of transparency.
“In its place, we see a culture of secrecy where the first instinct is to sweep legitimate requests for information under the carpet.
“We need ministers to show some humility for once, accept there needs to be a root and branch change in their working practices, and deliver the kind of open government that people want and deserve.”
North East MSP and Liberal Democrat business manager, Mike Rumbles, is also pursuing greater transparency from the government.
He said: “You could not make it up. This government has been accused of holding secret meetings between ministers and interest groups.
“Now they have the gall to refuse to answer whether any of those meetings have taken place in the north-east region. It beggars belief.”
Defending the Scottish Government’s transparency, Parliamentary Business Minister Joe FitzPatrick said: “We are committed to improving our FOI response times despite the steady increase in requests.
“We are always looking for opportunities to release more information proactively.
“We have listened to some of the comments in response to our recent FOI performance and, as part of improving this, we will ensure that information released under FOI legislation is published online so it is publicly available.”
