The Scottish Executive warned by information commissioner
The Scottish Executive received a warning from the information commissioner last year regarding its differential treatment of freedom of information requests from journalists compared to those from the general public. In a series of letters obtained by the Scottish Sunday, commissioner Kevin Dunion expressed his dissatisfaction with the Executive's handling of requests and threatened to publish recommendations on best practices to prevent future narrow interpretations of the law. This controversy coincided with a decision in August by the commissioner, criticizing the Executive's interpretation of a request made by Scottish Sunday's environment editor Rob Edwards concerning nuclear waste disposal.
Journalistic role impacts request handling
It has now come to light that the commissioner wrote to Sir John Elvidge, the Executive's permanent secretary, expressing concerns about the treatment of an earlier request from Edwards. Dunion raised the issue of restrictive interpretation and suggested that the response to Edwards was less helpful due to his journalistic role. The commissioner further warned that such treatment could be perceived as bureaucratic barriers hindering public access to information.
Executive defends its position
In response to Dunion's concerns, the Executive's head of the department for the environment and rural affairs, Richard Wakeford, defended the organization's practices. Wakeford asserted that journalists' requests were not treated differently and defended the decision to turn Edwards away. He criticized the commissioner's use of the word "perverse" and deemed it strong and inappropriate. The letter can be seen as a subtle message emphasizing that the government is currently seeking to weaken the Freedom of Information Act, potentially influencing the commissioner's actions.
Importance of interpretation
The case centered around the interpretation of Edwards' request for information regarding the nuclear waste disposal body Nirex, initially made in May 2005. The Executive responded that no information was available. On appeal, the commissioner found that the request had been interpreted restrictively, referring only to Nirex's actual plans and not including discussions or related information. Although the information was not released, as it was still under appeal, Edwards expressed frustration at the lack of transparency.
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