Reuse of Public Sector Information

The Reuse of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 (“the regulations”) came into force on 18 July 2015.

Public Sector Information is any information, whatever its medium – including print, digital or electronic and sound recordings – produced, held or disseminated by a public sector body.

The regulations provide that a person may make a request to the SLCC for the reuse of a document or documents which are held by the SLCC for a purpose other than the initial purpose within the SLCC’s task for which the document was produced.

Regulation 2 of the regulations defines the word “document” as meaning any information recorded in any form, including any part of such information, whether in writing or stored in electronic form or as a sound, visual or audio – visual recording, other than a computer program.

An information asset is information that the SLCC produces, holds or disseminates that is of interest or value to itself and potentially to a re-user. It includes information within the public task of the SLCC. The public tasks of the SLCC include investigation of complaints about the legal practitioners, oversight of complaint handling by the relevant professional organisations (RPOs), sharing best practice, monitoring trends and highlighting areas of concern.

A description of the public tasks of the SLCC can be found on the SLCC website.

Additional information about the SLCC can be obtained through the guide to Information which is available on the SLCC website. The guide to information was last updated in April 2015.

In terms of the regulations a person making a request for reuse of public sector information must ensure that the request is:

1. In writing
2. States the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence
3. Specifies the documents requested, and
4. States the purpose for which the document is to be reused

A request for the reuse of information must be sent to:

The Information Officer

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission

Capital Building

12-13 St Andrew Square

Edinburgh

EH2 2AF

Where a request is received the SLCC will respond to the request promptly and within 20 working days beginning with the date the request is received. The options available to the SLCC in response to the request are either to refuse the request, to make the document available to the applicant or to impose conditions on what reuse can be permitted.

Examples of information held by the SLCC that fall within the scope of a request for reuse of public sector information are:

• Publication Schemes
• Policy documents
• Press notices
• Primary and secondary legislation

Examples of information held by the SLCC that fall out with the scope of a request for reuse of public sector information are:

• Information held by the SLCC which is out with the scope of its public task
• Information that is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
• Information that contains personal data
• Information in which the relevant copyright is owned or controlled by a different person or organisation (third party copyright)

Should you have any complaints about the SLCC’s procedure in respect of the SLCC’s handling of your request under the regulations, please contact Neil Stevenson, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, The Stamp Office, 10-14 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3EG.

If, having made a complaint to the SLCC, you think that the SLCC has not complied with its obligations under the regulations then you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner at the following address:

The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF