Processing of applications at Disclosure Scotland: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
Please provide the following information for the period 1 January 2024 to the most recent month for which figures are available:
1. For each calendar month in this period, the total number of disclosure applications received, broken down by type (for example: basic, standard, enhanced, PVG – or whatever categories you hold).
2. For each calendar month and each application type, the number and percentage of applications completed within 14 days, and the number and percentage completed after 14 days.
3. Confirmation of whether the “90% of applications completed within 14 days” target refers to calendar days or working days, and whether this target applies to all disclosure types or only certain categories.
4. Copies of any current Service Level Agreements, performance dashboards, or internal reports used since 1 January 2024 that: o monitor performance against the 14-day target; and o refer specifically to “90% of applications completed within 14 days”.
5. Copies of any internal guidance or communications (emails, briefing notes, or policy documents) issued since 1 January 2024 about how staff should describe processing times and the “90% within 14 days” figure in communications with the public or on social media.
Response
1. For each calendar month in this period, the total number of disclosure applications received, broken down by type (for example: basic, standard, enhanced, PVG – or whatever categories you hold).
Some of this information can be found on the Scottish Government website through both our publication scheme and published FOIs. I have provided links below:
Our performance - Disclosure Scotland
Disclosure Scotland disclosure check application statistics: FOI release - gov.scot
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
Additionally, as part of our response to Question 4 in which you requested documents reporting on SLA and amount of applications processed within 14 days, we have provided this data by month from January 2024 to December 2025.
2. For each calendar month and each application type, the number and percentage of applications completed within 14 days, and the number and percentage completed after 14 days.
This information is provided in answer to questions 1 and 4.
3. Confirmation of whether the “90% of applications completed within 14 days” target refers to calendar days or working days, and whether this target applies to all disclosure types or only certain categories.
Our SLA target refers to calendar days. Weekend days are included in the number of processing days, but national holidays and Scottish Government public and privilege holidays are not. This applies to all disclosure types and is detailed on our website: Our performance - Disclosure Scotland
4. Copies of any current Service Level Agreements, performance dashboards, or internal reports used since 1 January 2024 that:
- monitor performance against the 14-day target; and
- refer specifically to “90% of applications completed within 14 days”.
I have enclosed a spreadsheet which includes 24 monthly reports on 14 day SLA from January 2024 to December 2025. This includes percentage of applications completed as compared to our 90% target.
- Enclosure 1 - Monthly Dashboards - Jan 24 - Dec 25
5. Copies of any internal guidance or communications (emails, briefing notes, or policy documents) issued since 1 January 2024 about how staff should describe processing times and the “90% within 14 days” figure in communications with the public or on social media.
I have enclosed social media and customer service guidance relating to reporting on timescales.
- Enclosure 2 - Customer Service Guidance on 14 days
- Enclosure 3 -Disclosure Scotland - Communications Team - Social media response process - September 2025_redacted
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG