Government to consult on bringing private prisons under FOI law

The proposal would see contractors operating private prisons, providers of secure accommodation for children, grant-aided schools and independent special schools opened up to more public scrutiny.

FOI legislation was first introduced in Scotland in 2002, and was expanded last April to a range of local authority arm’s length trusts delivering leisure, culture and sporting services.

Joe FitzPatrick, minister for parliamentary business, said: “Scotland already has the most robust Freedom of Information regime in the UK and it is our aim to ensure that this continues, and that our principles of openness, transparency and accountability set an example for other nations to aspire to.

“Once again, this consultation demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to continually improving Scotland’s transparency and ensuring that freedom of information legislation remains robust and up-to-date. This includes reviewing coverage of the legislation in the context of Scotland’s ever-changing public service landscape.

“The First Minister has committed to leading the most open and accessible government that Scotland has ever had. In tandem with this commitment is our desire to make certain that organisations delivering key public service roles are themselves open, accountable and subject to scrutiny. We are therefore proposing to widen the scope of bodies covered by that legislation, to cover areas of education, care and security.

“We welcome feedback from the bodies themselves, stakeholders and the public. We are also interested to hear about what other bodies, either individually or collectively, should be considered in any future consultations.”

The consultation ends on 4 September 2015.