Freedom of information (FOI) enquiries

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 allows any member of the public to request information from a public authority, such as Public Health Scotland.

The Act promotes general access to information by recognising that the public has a right to understand:

• how public authorities are organised
• what services they provide
• the reasons behind their business decisions

The Act encourages us to be open and accountable and to organise information so that it is easily accessible to anyone who requests it.

Environmental Information Regulation (EIR) enquiries

The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIR) also allows access to environmental information held by Public Health Scotland.

You can submit a request for environmental information through the same process as an FOI request. 

When you can expect a response

We must provide the information you request within 20 working days unless:

• that information is exempt under the Act
• we need clarification from you about the request
• we require you to pay a fee

If any of these apply, the new maximum date for responding will be readjusted.

Also, under the EIR, we may seek an extension for complex requests. In some situations, information may be withheld from the public.

This will include information that is:

• about to be published
• personal information covered by data protection law
• not in the public interest to be made generally available

If we decide to withhold information, we will give reasons for our decision.

If you are dissatisfied with our response you can ask us to review it.

If you are still dissatisfied you can appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who is responsible for enforcing the Act.

For more information about your rights visit the Scottish Information Commissioner.

Our responses to FOI requests

We publish responses to FOI requests considered under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in our FOI disclosure log.

Please check the disclosure log before submitting a new request, as your request may already have been answered.

Information in the log has been edited to remove private information and personal details, including who has made the request. 

Please note that the FOI disclosure log only contains FOI requests received after March 2022.

Supporting documents and attachments have been included where possible. Where this has not been possible, you can ask for the supporting documents by contacting the Freedom of Information Team.

How to make an FOI request

If you would like to make an FOI request about Public Health Scotland or our work, you can submit your request online.

Alternatively, you can write to us at:

Corporate FOI team
Public Health Scotland
Gyle Square
South Gyle Crescent
Edinburgh
EH12 9EB

You can also email your request to phs.foi@phs.scot

Please include:

• your name
• address or email address
• full details of the information you want to receive, including any date ranges

Publication scheme

In accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, we have adopted a publication scheme to help you find all the information that we publish and plan to publish, and how to access it.

View the PHS publication scheme.