Guide to information available through the SPSO Publication Scheme

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme.

Authorities are under a legal obligation to:

• publish the classes of information that they make routinely available
• tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost.

To see the classes of information that we publish, please click here.

We have adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2011 produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner . He has approved this scheme until 31 May 2015.  You can access the model scheme information here, or by contacting us at the address at the foot of this page.

The purpose of this Guide to Information is to:

• allow the public to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class,
• state what charges may be applied
• explain how to find the information easily
• provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information
• explain how to request information we hold that has not been published

Availability and formats
The information we publish through the model scheme is, wherever possible, available on our website. We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online.   For example, you can ask to inspect it at our premises, or we can usually arrange to send a paper copy of information to you (although there may be a charge for this - see the 'Charges' section below).  Please contact us by email if you want to do this - or our details are at the bottom of this page.

Exempt information
We will publish information we hold that falls within the classes of information listed in the model scheme.  If a document contains information that is exempt under Scotland’s freedom of information laws (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we will remove or redact the information before publication and explain why.

Copyright
Where we hold the copyright in our published information, the information may be copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that:

• it is copied or reproduced accurately
• it is not used in a misleading context, and
• the source of the material is identified

Where we do not hold the copyright in information we publish, we will make this clear.

Charges
This section explains when we may make a charge for our publications and how any charge will be calculated.

• There is no charge to view information on our website or at our premises.
• We may charge for providing information to you e.g., photocopying and postage, but we will charge you no more than it actually costs us to do so.
• We will always tell you what the cost is before providing the information to you.
• Our photocopying charge per sheet of paper is : 
  Black and white    Size of paper A4  Pence per sheet 10p
  Colour                     Size of paper A4  Pence per sheet 15p
• Information provided on CD-Rom will be charged at 50p per computer disc.
• Postage costs will be recharged at the rate we paid to send the information to you.
• When providing copies of pre-printed publications, we will charge no more than the cost per copy of the total print run. 
• We do not pass on any other costs to you in relation to our published information.

Please note that this charging schedule does not apply to any commercial publications (Class 8 publications). These are items offered for sale through retail outlets such as book shops, academic journal websites or museum shops and their price reflects a ‘market value’ which may include the cost of production. (NB We do not currently offer any such publications)

Information not in our publication scheme
We will also advise you how to ask for information that we do not publish or how to complain if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of this publication scheme. If you wish to make a request for information not contained in the publication scheme, please click here for more information about this.

Contact us
You can contact us for assistance with any aspect of this publication scheme:

       Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
       4 Melville Street
       Edinburgh
       EH3 7NS

       Tel: 0800 377 7330
       Fax: 0800 377 7331
       Email: ask@spso.org.uk