Current status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 22 May 2017
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering extending the scope of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to include private companies.
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ('the Act') covers private companies if they are wholly-owned by a public authority listed in schedule 1 of the Act. The Act can also be extended to organisations undertaking 'functions of a public nature' - such as the arm's length trusts providing culture, leisure and sporting services on behalf of local authorities, private prison contractors and providers of secure accommodation for children the Scottish Government has brought within scope. The Scottish Government is currently considering consultation responses following consultation on extending the Act to Registered Social Landlords.