Text reads: Secret Scotland Will the Scottish Government face another court case over FoI non-compliance? CFoIS Graphic shows a redacted document
Text reads: The Scottish Information Commissioner has said that he is considering a second contempt of court case over the Scottish Government’s handling of an FoI request related to the Hamilton Inquiry. At First Minister’s Questions on 19th March 2026, Katy Clark MSP asked FM John Swinney if he will commit to providing all the information required under decision notice 193/2024 and sought reassurance that he is not considering using the First Minister’s veto, under s52 of FoISA, to keep the information secret from the public.
Text reads: The First Minister avoided answering whether or not he will use the Ministerial veto, a power which has not been used since FoISA came into effect in 2005. Katy Clark MSP’s Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill, introduced to Parliament in June 2025, seeks to remove the First Minister’s veto power, a provision that the SPPA Committee’s Stage 1 Report supported. The Bill passed Stage 1 and is set to return in the next session of Parliament.
Text reads: CFoIS encourages everyone to support the Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill at Stages 2 and 3 in the new session of Parliament, after the 7th of May, and promises to raise these and other issues as the Bill progresses. These kind of problems simply strengthen the case that FoISA needs reformed urgently to close legal loopholes and strengthen the enforcement powers of the independent Commissioner.
Will the Scottish Government face another court case over FoI non-compliance? Read the Scottish Information Commissioner’s full statement at www.foi.scot/preposterous...
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