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Ministerial Veto 1. The exemption which has caused most concern is that of policy advice and discussion - an area where the Scottish legislation as proposed will allow for greater freedom than the Westminster legislation, but still may be too broadly drawn. Although factual data is not covered by the exemption, the Irish legislation, for example, also ensures publication of analysis of data and scientific or technical advice. The Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland have pointed out that in New Zealand, policy discussion is made open once the policy decision has been made, and closer to home the Welsh cabinet have been placing unedited minutes of cabinet meetings on the internet after a six week delay. Neither seems to have harmed the process of government. 2. An Open Scotland stated that the Executive would consider putting a "purpose clause" in the Bill, indicating the overall purpose of the legislation. There is no such clause in the draft Bill, although the Executive remain undecided and comments on this point are invited. Such a clause could reinforce the public interest in disclosure of information and therefore help with changing the culture towards one in which openness is the norm. 3. It appears to be assumed that "commercial interests" should take precedence over the public interest in disclosure. At a time when public contracts are widely put out to tender, this seems to run the risk of undermining accountability by a presumption of secrecy, and to provide a huge loophole for withholding information. 4. The concept of Ministerial veto being able to override the decision of a Commissioner gives priority to political decision-making. 5. The exemption for court records is also an area of possible concern, in that public inquiries will be excluded from freedom of information legislation (except fatal accident inquiries) 6. There is no response made in the draft Bill to concerns about the effectiveness of the legislation in raising awareness of new rights. In Australia, only 10% of people feel competent to make an application for information. While the Commissioner will have responsibility for promoting the legislation as well as enforcing it, no provision has been made for funding for public education. However, there is an Executive "implementation group" looking at means of ensuring the new regime works. 7. Public authorities have the right to refuse requests for information on the grounds that the request is 'vexatious'. While it is highly likely that there will be frivolous applications made, the term could be applied to a wider range than is intended. 8. The exemptions for confidential information would allow information supplied to Scottish authorities by the EU or other international bodies to be withheld or allow lobbyists to operate in secrecy by agreeing with authorities that their information was to be kept confidential. 9. The general exemption for information whose disclosure is prohibited by other existing - or future - laws assumes no change from a previous culture of secrecy. 10. The possibility of a requester being charged up to £400 for complex requests, and that authorities will not have to give access at all if the cost exceeds £500, allow higher charges under the Scottish FOI Bill than under the UK law.
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