Proposals by the Scottish Government to extend Freedom of Information legislation to cover more organisations carrying out certain public functions (your report, 30 June) will give the public access to information that would have been strictly off limits in the past, such as details of Private Finance Initiative and private prison contracts.
Concerns have been raised over the increasing trend of public authorities using private firms and charitable trusts to deliver public services such as health, housing or leisure services, meaning these bodies have slipped through the net when it com
es to FoI requests. It is the intention that the widening of FoI to these bodies will close off this loophole.
However, this could have implications for the public purse. Considerable care will be required by public authorities in drawing up contracts with private contractors, to guard against potential compensation packages should the private contractor supplying services be judged to have lost competitiveness due to contract information being released into the public domain under FoI.
Hand in hand with this extension of FoI is the need for an increase in public awareness of the legislation. Research indicates that certain social groups, including young people, the elderly and people with disabilities, are less aware than other groups of FoI and its benefits, and it is vital to ensure that all groups know their rights and are able to access information.
Freedom of Information has indeed come a long way since coming into force over three years ago, and there are some interesting challenges ahead for Scotland's public and private sectors to embrace.
PAUL MINTO
Canning Street
Edinburgh The full article contains 271 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
