Guide to Information

Standards Commission's Guide to Information (Publication Scheme.)

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme.  Authorities are under a legal obligation to:

• publish the classes of information that they make routinely available: and
• tell the public how to access the information and whether information is available free of charge or if a payment is due what charges will be applied.

The Standards Commission adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2015 produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner.  

You can find information about the Model Publication Scheme on the Scottish Information Commissioner's website at www.itspublicknowledge.info/PublicationSchemeGuidance 

The purpose of this Guide to Information is to:

• allow you to see what classes of information about the Standards Commission and its work is available (and what is not), and in what format;
• explain how to find the information easily;
• provide contact details for enquiries and for help to access the information; and 
• state what charges may be applied for the provision of paper copies of documents

Availability and formats

The information the Standards Commission publishes under the Model Publication Scheme is available on its website. The Standards Commission can offer alternative arrangements, on request, for those who are unable or unwilling to access the information from the website. For example, arrangements can be made for the information to be sent as a paper copy by post. There may, however, there may be a charge for this (see Section 5 below).

Exempt information

The Standards Commission holds information which falls within the classes of information detailed below. Information in any document that is exempt under Freedom of Information legislation (for example, if it is sensitive personal data), may be removed or blanked out (redact) before publication. An explanation will be provided if any such action has been taken.

Copyright and re-use

Where the Standards Commission holds the copyright in any of its published information, the information may be copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that:

• it is copied or reproduced accurately;
• it is not used in a misleading context; and
• the source of the material is identified.

The Standards Commission will make it clear if it does not not hold the copyright for any information it publishes.

Charges

This section outlines the circumstances in which the Standards Commission might apply a charge for its publications.

There is no charge to view the information displayed on our website or at the Standards Commission’s office. Anyone wishing to view information at the Standards Commission’s office must make an advance appointment to do so.

The Standards Commission may charge for the costs incurred in providing information, such as for postage and / or photocopying. The charge for the supply of information will be no more than the actual cost of producing and sending copies of the information. The Standards Commission will always advise of the charge to be applied before the information is supplied.

This charging schedule does not apply to commercial publications (see Class 8 below). Any such items are offered for sale through retail outlets such as book shops, academic journal websites or museum shops and their price reflects the ‘market value’, which may include the associated production costs.

Contact the Standards Commission

Any enquiries or requests for assistance in respect of any aspect of this publication scheme should be directed to: 

The Standards Commission for Scotland
Room T2.21, The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
Tel: 0131 348 6666
Email:     enquiries@standardscommission.org.uk
Website: www.standardscommissionscotland.org.uk

The Standards Commission can provide advice as to how information that it does not publish can be sought and how to complain about any aspect of its publication scheme.

The classes of information published by the Standards Commission

The Standards Commission publishes information that falls within the following classes. Once information is published under a class, the Standards Commission will continue to make it available for two financial years. Where information is updated or superseded, only the current version will be available on the website. Any request for a previous can be made using the contact details above.

The classes are:- 

The Standards Commission's Publication Scheme can be downloaded as a pdf.