Bit more freedom of information from council

Published on Monday 8 March 2010 18:07

A COUNCIL has become the first in Scotland to put every Freedom of Information (FOI) request it receives – and the responses – on its website.

Moray Council's depute convener Allan Wright said: "I think some may be surprised at what sort of information is being asked for, and the level of investigation required by council staff to produce the information.

"People will be able to judge for themselves how the (Freedom of Information] act is being used."

A spokesman for the local authority said: "Along with other public bodies, the council has an online publication scheme, where many documents are available for viewing, and is continually placing more information in the public domain. In a first for a Scottish local authority, the public will be able to see what FOI requests are received, the sort of information different organisations and individuals are interested in and the level of detail that can be provided.

"Private details of those that have made the request are withheld, but they are placed into groups, such as individuals, media, government researchers, etc, to enable visitors to the site to see where requests are coming from."

The spokesman said it was part of the local authority's drive to be more open and transparent, and added: "The council receives some 500 requests a year from all sections of the community. Some take very little time and effort to respond to and can cost as little as 50 in staff time to complete. Others can be far more complex and costly."