Image source, bbc

Stephen Low insists there are two standards built in, explaining health boards will give all sorts of information, but if the service is outsourced the contract dictates what will be revealed.

The UNISON Scotland representative says dealing with FOIs is not seen as a frontline service by public bodies, but it should be.

He says the units which deal with FOIs have seen a reduction of staff and there is not enough training.

Committee convener Jenny Marra puts it to him that councils say they have to deal with vexatious requests.

Mr Low responds by asking how you define vexatious, adding FOIs are either a right or are not.

Severin Carrell says special advisers and ministers must only have a role in extreme cases, and we need assurance that this is being kept to a minimum.

There needs to be a greater emphasis on a neutral approach which is blind to the identity of the person making the submission, he adds.

Nick McGowan-Lowe says it does seem like journalist requests are handled differently to that from members of the public.

If you are taking public money to deliver public services you should be covered by FOI law, Stephen Low insists.

Carole Ewart says NGOs, bloggers and journalists have an elevated right to access information as they are acting in the public nature.

Ms Ewart argues if a public or private organisation are delivering services of a public nature they should be open to scrutiny by providing information.

Rob Edwards says he does not see why FOI laws cannot be extended to NGOs which provide public services, or even private companies.

It seems really important for democracy and the health of our society, he adds.

Image source, bbc

Bailey-Lee Robb MSYP says FOI confidence is very low among young people as they feel the process is too complicated to carry out.

They feel like they are not going to be taken seriously and will be treated as a "pain in the backside" by local authorities, Mr Robb adds.

He says the feeling is councils will just wait until the 20 day deadline is approaching and ask a further question to kick the can down the road.

Committee convener Jenny Marra points out that is not happening just to young people and that it happens to her too.

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar seeks examples of organisations that receive public money and therefore should be covered by FOI laws but are not.

Stephen Low from UNISON says Glasgow City Council privatised its IT service a few years ago, so £800m of public money is no longer interrogable.

Rob Edwards highlights hubCos set up by the Scottish Futures Trust - which funds public sector infrastructure - are not covered by FOISA (Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act).

He also says it seems bizarre that COSLA is not subject to FOI.

Image source, bbc

Carole Ewart suggests it has become more difficult to submit requests in the years since the legislation came into effect.

There are also issues around arms-length organisations with 14 major ones functioning at the moment, she adds.

The Campaign for Freedom of Information representative says one suggestion is to have just one website to go to for all FOIs, as it is too difficult to submit one now.

It’s much more difficult to make an FOI request due to the more complicated public service landscape.

Image source, Scottish Information Commissioner

The Scottish Information Commissioner submitted written evidence to the committee as part of its inquiry into FOI legislaiton.

The key points made by the Commissioner were:

• The statutory provisions in relation to interventions should be strengthened

• The requirement for public authorities to adopt a publication scheme should be removed and replaced with a simple statutory duty to publish information, supported by a new legally enforceable Code of Practice on Publication
• The First Minister's veto should be removed
• The exclusion that excludes appeals in relation to requests from the Lord Advocate, Procurators Fiscal and the Commissioner should be removed
• A prohibition on authorities relying on a confidentiality clause between them and their contractors which provide public services should be considered

Read the submission here. , external

Convener Jenny Marra asks about specific issues with the process of making a request.

Claire Cairns from the Coalition of Carers says there are difficulties around identifying where to send the information, particularly given the dividing lines between councils and health and social care partnerships for example.

She also points to issues with timescales, saying when her organisation request information from local authorities 14 responses were late and three never replied at all.

Bailey-Lee Robb MSYP tells the committee young people can access information they could not before, but improvements can be made.

Dr Craig Dalzell from Common Weal agrees there has been improvement but it needs to go further.

Dr Dalzell calls for a glass wall approach to FOIs, whereby anything that can be accessed by an FOI should be automatically released.

Rob Edwards from The Ferret says one of the main concerns is that the Act is being sidestepped by people not recording information, for example not taking minutes.

Nick McGowan-Lowe of the NUJ says freedom of information has set a high standard for transparency but there are clear problems with how it has been implemented.

Some organisations are trying to test the limits of it, he adds.

Public money is being moved out to places to avoid public scrutiny, he adds.

Image source, bbc

Severin Carrell of The Guardian explains he represents the 42 journalists that signed the declaration expressing concerns about government handling of FOIs.

In 2017 journalists from across Scotland's media signed an open letter, external raising those concerns .

Read more here.

FOI remains a universal service that ought to be free for all, Mr Carrell tells the committee.

He says the notion of FOIs being free to all is being undermined.

Image source, bbc

Carole Ewart of the Campaign for Freedom of Information begins by saying the FOI Act has increased transparency.

The legislation allows an FOI to be made and proactive information disclosures.

However it is the latter objective that has failed, Ms Ewart explains, citing regressions.

The Act is not sufficient to deal with the changing environment, adds Stephen Low from UNISON Scotland.

Image source, Getty Images

Last year, the Information Commissioner criticised the Scottish government's handling of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests.

A report by commissioner Daren Fitzhenry, external found "unjustifiable, significant delays" in some cases.

He also said journalists and political researchers faced an "additional layer of clearance" that should end.

The government welcomed the report which it said highlighted "significant improvements" in its FoI service.

Read more.

A progress report on the government's action plan was published in July.

This is available here., external

Image source, bbc

The committee convener Jenny Marra introduces the following witnesses to this roundtable session on FOIs:

• Claire Cairns from the Coalition of Carers
• Severin Carrell of The Guardian
• Dr Craig Dalzell from Common Weal
• Rob Edwards from The Ferret
• Carole Ewart of the Campaign for Freedom of Information
• Stephen Low from UNISON Scotland
• Nick McGowan-Lowe from the National Union of Journalists
• Bailey-Lee Robb MSYP

Image source, Scottish Information Commissioner

The Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee will begin shortly.

It will firstly host a roundtable on the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 with a range of users of the legislation.

Read more about its post-legislative scrutiny of FOI law here., external

Then it will hear from the Auditor General on the Cairngorm funicular, which has been closed since September 2018.

The committee papers are available here., external

Welcome to Holyrood Live's coverage of the Scottish Parliament on 19 September 2019.

Image source, bbc/PA

Here's what we're covering today:

09:00 am: Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee

11.40 am: General questions

12.00 pm: First minister's questions

12.45 pm: Members’ business: Shona Robison – Social Security Scotland First Anniversary

2.30pm: MSPs debate the Bill proposal on pre-release access to statistics