Making a request

Should you wish to make an FOI request, or an FOI related complaint then please use the contact form.

Alternatively, please write to:

Freedom of Information Officer
Scotland Office
1 Melville Crescent
Edinburgh
EH3 7HW

You must state clearly what information you require, state the name of the applicant and provide a postal and/or email address for correspondence.

We will write back to you to acknowledge your request. We will respond to your request within 20 working days as provided in the FOI Act 2000.

If it is not possible to respond within 20 working days, we will indicate a date when we will respond.

In most instances our reply will confirm or deny whether or not we hold the information, and either provide the information you requested, or explain why it has not been provided, quoting an exemption under the FOI Act 2000.

A request for information may be refused by a public authority if it meets the criteria of an exemption as set out in the Act.

If your request is refused, we will identify the relevant exemptions and explain our reasoning behind their application. Additionally, we will provide details of how to apply for an internal review of the decision to with hold information.

If, after an internal review, you remain dissatisfied with our handling of your request, you may ask The Information Commissioner to review our decision.

Pre-devolution files

Please note that requests under FOI legislation that concern information that is held on the pre-devolution files of the old Scottish Office involve a more complicated assessment as to whether the UK or Scottish FOI Acts are applicable. This can result in correspondents being asked to re-direct their requests from the Scotland Office to the Scottish Government or vice versa.

In most instances information held on pre-devolution files is subject to the Scotland Act. Consequently, the majority of requests will be handled by the Scottish Government.

Fees

We may charge a free for processing Freedom of Information requests. the fees are currently prescribed in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3244).