Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) provides a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities. See our FOISA policy for full details.

1. Publication Scheme

We are required to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme, approved by the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner (OSIC).

The publication scheme lists:

• the classes of information which OSCR publishes or intends to publish
• the manner in which information within each class is, or is intended to be published
• whether the material is, or is intended to be available free of charge or on payment.

We have adopted the Model Publication Scheme produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner. You can get information about how this scheme works at the Commissioner's website.

We have produced OSCR's Guide to Information, which:

• allows you to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class
• states what charges may be applied
• explains how you can find the information easily
• provides contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information
• explains how to request information we hold that has not been published.

You can also request a hard copy from our Freedom of Information Officer using the contact details below.

2. Information available elsewhere: Charity Accounts, governing documents and other information

Section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 exempts information which is freely available to the public through channels other than by making a Freedom of Information request to the body in question. You should investigate the following options before seeking the described information under Freedom of Information legislation.

In relation to charities registered in Scotland, section 23 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 states that charities must supply a copy of their governing document and their latest accounts on request to any person. A charity may charge such fee as it thinks fit for complying with such a request, but such a fee must not exceed the cost of supplying the document requested.

Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIOs) have additional requirements in relation to their trustees register. More information is available in section 5.3.2 of  our guidance, SCIOs A Guide.

Many charities have a website where they publish their information. We have also, since 2016, published the accounts of charities with an income of £25,000 or over and for all SCIOs. These can be found on the charity's entry in the Scottish Charity Register.

Information such as officers (trustees), governing documents (Memorandum and Articles, constitution or Articles of Association) and annual accounts relating to charities which are also limited companies, can be found using a free search on the companies house website.

You should also consult our Guide to Information which details all other information we publish and where to find it.

You may be able to find the information you require much quicker by using the above options than by requesting it by means of an FOI request. If we believe that to be the case, we may refer you back to these options.