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 have a right to understand how public authorities are organised, what services they provide, and 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.

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. 

We must provide the information you request within 20 working days unless that information is exempt under the Act or unless we seek clarification from you about the request or require to pay a fee, where 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 the Data Protection law, or information that is 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, and 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 www.itspublicknowledge.info.

Freedom of Information disclosure log

We publish responses to FOI requests considered under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in our FOI disclosure log. Please view the log to see if your request has been met before submitting a new request. 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.

View the Freedom of Information disclosure log

FOI requests about COVID-19

Public Health Scotland receive a large number of FOI requests and General Enquires about COVID-19.

Public Health Scotland has published lots of information about COVID-19 in the weekly Public Health Scotland COVID-19 Statistical Report. 

If your request is relates to statistics around COVID-19, please check this report before making your request. This may provide you with the information you require without having to wait for a response to a request.

How to make an FOI request

If you would like to make an FOI request about Public Health Scotland or our work, you can use our form.

Send an FOI request

Alternatively, you can write to us at:

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

or email 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 Publication Scheme