Freedom of information and data protection

Find out more about the PIRC's responsibilities under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act and the Data Protection Act below.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives you the right to access official information held by public authorities. The Act also requires Scottish public bodies to produce and maintain a publication scheme. 

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as amended by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) gives you rights to request and receive your own personal data. 

What is a publication scheme?

Essentially, a publication scheme is: 

  • A commitment to make information routinely available, without waiting for someone to specifically request it. 
  • A guide to the information we publish, or intend to publish - not limited to printed information, but including other formats, such as electronic. 
  • A means of enabling you to understand better what information is available to you and how to access the information you seek. 

We have adopted the Model Publication Scheme produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner. This scheme forms the basis of our Guide to Information

More information

Our Guide to Information

The purpose of the PIRC Guide to Information is to: 

  • Allow you to see what information is available and what is not available. 
  • State what charges may be applied for information requests. 
  • Explain how to find the information easily. 
  • Provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information. 
  • Explain how to request information we hold that has not been published.

If you have any queries about any aspect of the publication scheme, please contact us

Freedom of Information requests

If you wish to access information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, which is not available under our publication scheme, please contact us.

The responsibility for Freedom of Information lies with the Head of Corporate Services. 

We publish many of our responses to Freedom of Information requests.

Please read our updates to see if we have already provided a response to a similar request.

More information

Requesting your personal information

You have the right to request and receive your own personal data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as amended by the Data Protection Act 2018.

A request for your personal information is called a Subject Access Request.

This allows you to get a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

We take our responsibilities for data protection seriously. Our privacy notice explains how we collect and use personal information about you in accordance with data protection law.

To request your personal information, you will need to tell us:

  • What information you need.
  • The years you need the information for.
  • The reason for the request.
  • We will also ask you to confirm your identity and aim to respond within one month of your request.

Please contact us to discuss your Subject Access Request.

More information

Environmental information

If you would like information on how the PIRC's policies and day-to-day operations relate to the environment, your request will be dealt with under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations. 

Please contact us for more information.